While Akhi is Away
by The Author 1945
Summary: North Korea has been causing trouble for the Western Nations and thus America is forced to go over there, leaving his little brother, Israel, behind with Germany until his return. Now Germany has the awkward job of watching and protecting his rambunctious son until his brother's return. But in the meantime, he may be getting attached to this kid...Author series multi-chapter.
1. Saying Goodbye

Hellooooo my lovelies! It is I, the Author! Well, awhile back while I was doing a story I realized just how shallow into the series we are. As such I feel it is time once again for another multi-chapter about Israel!

So without further interruptions, lets get this party started! It's near the end of the Korean War, lets see what's going down…

_WARNING!: BEFORE YOU READ THIS BE SURE TO READ MY STORIES IN ORDER OR YOU WONT UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON! TO GET MY STORIES IN ORDER JUST CLICK MY NAME, THE AUTHOR 1945, AND LOOK UNDER 'MY STORIES_!

Enjoy!

...

* * *

1952:

Israel wiped a tear from his eye. He hated this.

He stood at a dock with many of the other western nations standing about, talking, arguing and getting dressed in their professional military uniforms. The two- year old stood aside in his white clothes clutching his teddy bear to him.

Near where he stood, two of his elder brothers, France and England, argued over what clothes to bring on the trip. Israel walked over to them.

"Bloody git! We're going over to get a truce in order and get our men back! This isn't a fashion show!"

"You expect me to wear your tacky war uniforms?! That would be an insult to the French way of…"

"Big Brother France, Big Brother England," said the Israeli tearfully. Both superpowers stopped their argument and looked down at the toddler, "I'll miss you both."

"Oh, mon petite," said France, looking down at the boy with genuine sadness, "we wont be long. The fighting will be over soon and we'll be back before you know it! You know, I have god on my side!" Then he did that weird laugh of his, which made Israel give a small laugh and smile, but that vanished quickly.

"Hug," said Israel bluntly, reaching up. France smiled and kneeled down.

"Of coarse, mon petite, I would be happy to…"

"_QUICK HUG ONLY, FRANCE_!" yelled England. France rolled his eyes. For some reason Israel didn't understand, Akhi, Big Brother England and Aba got very upset every time France tried to hug, hold or basically touch Izzy in any way. Israel didn't know why and for some reason he didn't want to.

France obeyed, gave Israel a very small, very quick hug (lest England get upset and tell America in which case North Korea would be the least of France's worries)

Israel turned to the Englishman, "I'll miss you too, Big Brother England," he said, crying some more.

"Oh," said England, kneeling down and hugging the boy, "there, there. You're just like your brother, you know that? He always cried when I left too."

At the mention of America, Israel cried harder.

Realizing he had made a mistake mentioning America, England released the boy and attempted to rectify the situation by saying, "hey, I'll tell you what. Once I get back I'll show you that spell you've been asking to see."

"Really?" said Israel, smiling slightly.

"Mm hm."

"The frog one?

"That's the one."

"Toda, big brother," said Israel, hugging him one last time, then leaving the two to get on with their argument.

Not so far away, Canada finished putting on his uniform (complete with a large red maple leaf on the front of the helmet) and turned to his polar bear, Kumajiro, who sat on the floor nearby.

"There! How do I look, Kumjira?" said Canada.

"Who are you?" squeaked the little bear.

"Canada, your owner."

"Big Brother Canada," squeaked Israel. Canada looked down at him and smiled.

"Izzy!" said Kumajiro, walking over and snuggling up to the boy, Israel put down his Teddy and hugged the bear.

"Bye, Kooji, I'll miss you." Kumajiro affectionately licked the boy's cheek. Israel giggled, then released the bear and turned to Canada.

"Bye, Canada," he squeaked sadly.

"Bye, little brother," said Canada, kneeling down and hugging the boy, "I'll miss you a lot, but I know one person who will miss you the most." He stopped hugging the Israeli and held him in front of him by his shoulders, "are you going to say good-bye yet?"

Israel nodded, "ken, I just have one last person to talk to before I do."

They exchanged one last hug, then Izzy walked to find the last person.

For Germany the trip to the docks hadn't been a fun one. Broken alliance or no, Italy was quite upset. Israel walked over as the two awkwardly exchanged their good-byes

"I…guess I'll miss you, Germania," said Italy. Germany gave a curt nod, only his eyes betraying his sadness at being separated from his old friend for…well until they sorted out things with North Korea. And knowing North Korea, that could take awhile.

"I'll call though," said Italy, though he sounded unsure. They both gave each other a quick handshake and then stood there uncomfortably. Luckily Israel was there to break the awkward silence.

"Shalom, Aba," said Izzy, walking over and glancing up at Germany. Both axis countries looked down at the toddler. Germany flinched at seeing Israel crying, he hated it when Israel cried. Normally he would get annoyed and tell the boy not to call him Aba. But not today, not while he was already upset and with good reason.

"Guten Tag, Israel," said Germany, but he immediately regretted saying that. Of course it wasn't a good day for him! It wasn't a good day for Germany either. Or Italy.

"Toda," said Israel. The boy then turned to Italy, "shalom, Italy, I'll miss you."

"Ciao, Izzy," said Italy, picking Israel up and hugging him, "I'll call and write you too while I'm away."

"But Ita," Izzy sniffed "I only know how to read sixteen words in English and Hebrew."

"Your Papa can read it to you!" suggested Italy with a smile, which only made Israel feel worse because it wasn't the smile the Italian always had on, it was a very forced smile. "Ve~ be good for your Papa, okay? Or Godfather Italy is gonna be very sad."

"Ken, Italy," said Izzy, Italy set the boy back down.

"Israel," said Germany, "did you say goodbye to everyone else yet?"

"Ken, Aba."

"To Akhi?"

"Lo, Aba."

"Then lets go and do that," said the German. He then looked at Italy and said, "don't worry, Italia, your only on medical staff, you'll be perfectly safe."

"I guess you're right," said Italy, though he still looked uncertain.

"Veneziano!" came a very loud, very harsh and very mean-sounding voice. Italy's brother, South Italy, Romano, marched over and grabbed his brother's arm.

"Come on you stupid b******," he used one of those words Akhi had told Israel not to repeat, "lets board the boat, I'm eager to finally get away from that Spanish b*****" another one of those words, he seemed to use the same one for everybody, Israel thought.

He looked at Germany and his expression turned to pure venom. "And I _definitely_ can't wait to get away from you, Potato b******, you and that brat of yours."

Germany's turn to get mad. Normally he just ignored Romano's comments and threats, but there were certain things you never did or said around Germany and one of them was bully Israel.

"Watch your mouth around das kind!" he barked at the former nation, who stepped back with surprise, "and do not call Israel a brat or I _might_ just tell his big brother and _he _might just decide that medical duty is too safe for you!"

Romano's eyes widened in fear. He talked big, but he was just as big a coward as his brother. Normally he would say Germany was bluffing, but when it came to Israel, Germany was dead serious.

"Come on, Feli," said Romano, dragging Italy to the boats. Italy turned and waved to Germany and Israel.

"Ve~ bye Izzy, bye Germany! Ciao! Ciao!"

"Auf Windersehn, Italia," said Germany waving sadly.

"Shalom," squeaked Izzy, waving with one arm and clutching unto his teddy with the other.

Once the two Italys vanished from sight, Germany sighed and looked down at Izzy.

"Lets get this over with," he said. Israel nodded, but started to cry once more.

America stood by the docks of the ship he was about to board, talking with Australia.

"…the commies have been losing men like there's a plague in town, China or no, we'll win this!" said Australia.

America laughed a bit, "especially with me in charge, after all…"

"America," said Germany before America could say his catch phrase. Germany nudged his head down to his side to indicate Israel and said, "Somebody has something to say."

America's expression went from happy and confident to sad and brokenhearted the second he saw Israel crying. Australia looked at America, then Israel and uncomfortably muttered "better board, see 'ya, mate."

Israel held up his teddy bear to his father. "Hold Teddy, please?" he squeaked. Germany looked embarrassed, but obeyed. Izzy ran over to America with surprising speed. The boy America's leg and cried some more. America got down on one knee and hugged the boy back.

"Hey, little buddy, I'll really miss you," said America, smiling sadly down at his brother.

"I'm gonna miss you more," said Izzy. He looked up, making puppy-eyes at his brother (his most effective strategy of getting what he wanted.) "Why can't I come with you, Akhi? I don't wanna be here without you!"

America smiled a bit. Izzy released his brother's leg and clasped his hands as if in prayer, "please, please take me with you Akhi!"

America ruffled Israel's hair. God, he was gonna miss this kid. Israel was the only country that treated him like the hero he was. It was cute and sweet that he wanted to come with him, but no way was America going to take the chance that Izzy might get hurt! He was only a newborn after all!

"Kiddo, if this was a social visit I'd take you but I don't wanna take the chance that Russia or that…uh…_jerk_ North Korea getting their hands on you."

"But I've been in battle before!" said Israel, "you said yourself that I'm super strong like you!" He flexed his little arms, America laughed.

"Yes you are! But you've got your own problems right now. Besides, that was when you were a baby, Izzy…"

"So that means I must be even stronger now!"

"Decent point! But this is a grown-up job, Izzy."

"But Akhi…"

"Ah ah! A hero…"

"…never interrupts his superior hero," finished Israel in a bored monotone that sounded quite comical in his high pitched little voice. America laughed a bit and patted the boy's head.

"Atta boy," he said, sadness returning, "I'll be home soon and then we can go back to hero training and games!" Israel smiled slightly at that.

"I guess so. Just promise not to get hurt, beseder?" said the Israeli, hugging his brother once more.

"What? A HERO can't be defeated! I'll be fine!" said America, switching back to his confident, happy tone. Israel smiled for real at hearing that. For some reason everybody else thought Akhi's voice was annoying, but Izzy really liked it. It was happy-sounding, an assurance that he was the hero and everything was going to be okay.

"Ah, there's what I like to see! Depressed Izzy is a lot less cute then laughing Izzy, y'know," said America, beaming.

"Ken!"

"Promise to be a good boy?"

"Promise!"

"I'm sure your Dad will take good care of you." America looked over at Germany and said, "You will take care of him, right?"

"Ja, of course," said Germany stiffly, as if he were in a battlefield and had just been given an order by a superior.

Now most countries were they aware that _Germany _was watching _Israel _would freak out and question America's mental health. While the phrase 'wolf guarding the sheep' did come to mind, the fact was that anybody else who usually watched Israel while America was away was leaving. The most reliable ally left whom America trusted enough to leave his beloved baby brother with was Germany. Besides, America thought, some time together would be good for them, it would help Germany calm down around Israel and help Israel warm up to Germany a little more.

Small steps, though, he didn't want to rush it. At least Germany had accepted though it had taken a threat or two from America ("well, if you wont watch him, I'm sure Russia would be more then willing to…" "YOU'D LEAVE HIM WITH THAT MANIAC?! ABSOLUTLY NOT! I WILL NOT HAVE MY S…_ISRAEL_ NEAR HIM FOR EVEN A SECOND!" "okay, then I guess you'd better watch him.")

"America," said England, coming up behind him and grabbing his shoulder sympathetically, "it's time to go."

America's eyes became cheerless yet again; he turned to Izzy and said, "Guess this is it."

"S-shalom, Akhi," sobbed Izzy. They hugged one last time, then America released the boy.

"I'll be back real soon!" he promised. He turned to Germany and said, "Make sure to keep him safe!"

"Ja."

"Three meals a day!"

"Näturlich."

"Don't let him out of your sight for even a second! He's really curious and might wander off!" England had a feeling this might take all day, so he grabbed America's arm and started to drag him unto the boat.

"And make sure you check under his bed before you put him to sleep at night, he's afraid of monsters! And snakes! He's afraid of those too! And storms, make sure you comfort him if it's raining! Make sure he goes to bed at 7:00 sharp! And don't give him too much sugar or he'll bounce off the walls, he really will! But do give him chocolate and ice cream! He loves ice cream! And also read to him every day! And also…"

"America, he'll be fine!"

"Okay! Izzy, be good!"

"Ken, Akhi!"

"Bye, little buddy!"

"Shalom!"

"Bye bro! Love you!"

"Love you too!"

England dragged America unto the boat. Izzy waved as the doors closed and the boat set off with Akhi in it.

...

* * *

WAAAH! America, no! They're separated! WAAAH!

Oh, well, he'll come back soon and now Izzy's going to be staying at Germany's house! Explanation time!

Korean war: so as most of you probably know during the fifties a war broke out between North Korea (whom we'll get to later) and South Korea (who you all know) during the course of the war not only America but most of the Western Allies got involved in one way or another, be it with the fighting itself or as in the case of Italy, medical assistance.

Germany, being war frightened after the second world war and not quite trusted yet by the western or worldwide community a mere seven years after the war's end didn't participate and while the Israelis did initially want to join in to support South Korea they ended up not doing so.

In 1952 things started to slow slightly and a truce was almost made. Thus America has gone to Korea with the others to try to negotiate and return captured POWs, thus Israel will be staying with his father for this multi-chapter.

You know what that means!

**Audience: BONDING TIME!**

That's right it is indeed bonding time, because dammit Germany's too tsundre for his own good, lets watch them go at it folks!

Oh, and by the way, sorry about the late update folks, I was on vacation in the Grand Canyon! Unfortunately I'm afraid of heights so yeah, not the best vacation ever, also a squirrel tried to eat my food!

And on a semi-unrelated note:

I need a Markaite Chikyuu! Hey, any potential songwriters out there! If you like this series and my little Israel I need a favor, I need somebody to write a Marukaite Chikyuu for Israel! I'm not the best songwriter on the planet so I'm opening it up to my readers, if somebody out there can write a good one for Israel please send it in to me, PM it to me! If its awesometacular then I may even create a video with it!

In the meantime, we have this multi-chapter! On to chapter dos, I'll be back!


	2. Welcome Home

Back again with chapter zwei! Have fun guys!

...

* * *

Germany sighed and walked over to Israel, who stood looking at where the boat had been a few minutes ago, sniffling.

"Israel…" he started to say.

"He'll be fine," said Israel confidently, "he's the hero after all." Germany rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway. He really needed to have America arrested for indoctrinating the youth at some point.

"No worries, nephs!" said Germany's brother, Prussia, who literally appeared next to Germany out of nowhere and patted the boy on the head, smiling widely, "the awesome me and West'll watch 'ya 'till your bro comes back! Kesesese!"

Israel smiled a bit, glanced up at the albino and said, "guess you're right, Uncle."

Germany opened his mouth to claim that sine he wasn't Israel's father, Prussia wasn't his uncle, but closed it thinking how upset Israel was the at he wasn't going to see his brother for God only knew how long. He didn't want to upset him farther.

"Well," he said, "I suppose we had best get you to the house."

Israel nodded and reached up towards Germany.

"Oh," said the German. He handed Israel back his teddy bear. Izzy took it and tucked it under his arm, but continued to reach up.

"Carry me," he squeaked, "please?"

Germany's eyes widened and he felt instantly uncomfortable. Historical differences meant that his relationship with Israel, while far better then it had been a year ago, was quite awkward and weird.

Israel knew this. He felt a little uncomfortable at times speaking to his father. It was a miracle they got along as well as they did given the circumstances. Israel didn't hate his father, he knew his father was sorry for all that had happened and wasn't a nazi any longer (actually, Israel had no clue if Aba had ever been a nazi to begin with, Germany had never told him or America exactly what he had done during the war, he dodged the question every time Israel asked.) Still, he did get those uncomfortable twinges in his stomach on occasion.

However, Israel was naïve but not to an illogical point. He knew that his Akhi could be gone for weeks, maybe months, despite what everybody had told him about him being back in no time. And until his Akhi did return, Aba was his guardian and caretaker. Israel knew he would likely be living with Aba for some time and it would thus be better if he worked out the kinks and awkwardness in their relationship immediately. Aba was all he had until Akhi came back and Israel, like most young children, needed love and affection from an adult.

Unfortunately, Germany didn't realize this so he wasn't in a big hurry to provide such love and affection.

"Prussia," the German hissed to his brother, "carry him."

Prussia cocked an eyebrow and said, "he asked for _you_ to do it."

"Pleeease, Aba?" whined Israel using his effective big-eyes strategy. Germany sighed.

"Fine," he said resignedly. He then proceeded to carefully grab the back of Israel's collar and lift him off the ground like that as he usually did.

"Akhi usually piggybacks me," said Israel. Germany sighed. He had a feeling this was going to be a long string of "Akhi usually"'s.

But he relented and sat the boy on his shoulders.

"Is that correct?" he queried. Israel nodded, bright smile coming back for the first time.

"Ken," he said, "toda, Aba."

"I'm…you're welcome, Israel."

"Kesese, so nephs, since you're staying at our place, you'd best know all the rules before you accidentally break one and West has a yelling spree."

"Rules?" squeaked Israel curiously. There were a few rules at Akhi's house but Akhi was very lenient.

"Oh, ja," said Germany, ever eager to enforce the rules. "No wondering off of the house premacies. If I'm working don't barge into my office, don't touch anything that looks breakable and especially stay away from any weapons you…" he rambled off many other rules that after awhile began to make Israel dizzy. So many rules! Akhi was never this strict!

"Oh, and most importantly," said Germany, "there's a storage closet in my room, don't go in there."

"Why?" asked Israel, curiosity peaked.

"There's…just don't, it's not for you."

"But what's…"

"And rule number 44, if I say something isn't for you, _listen_!"

Izzy sighed, "Ken Aba. " Though the child made a mental note to at least peek in the closet at some point.

"Gut," said Germany with a nod, "oh, and also we're going to have some guests over tomorrow."

"Who?"

"Just some relations of mine."

They finally reached Aba's house. Israel was glad to be back, he had been to Aba's house before (though he had never stayed the night.) It was extremely clean, as Aba was what Akhi called a "neat freak." The grass was all trimmed and there was a nice little garden that Prussia kept (he liked gardening, but he told Izzy not to tell, "I've got a reputation to keep up.")

"Well, here we are," said Germany, setting the Israeli down and opening the door.

Immediately, there were three loud growls. Izzy ducked behind Germany's leg. Germany turned the light on and looked down at his three growling dogs.

"Down Blackie, Berlitz, Aster, it's just me," he said. The dogs stopped growling immediately and trotted up to their master, tails wagging happily. Germany patted Berlitz on the head. Izzy peeked out from behind his father. The dogs noticed, Aster in particular who was unusually fond of the boy. She ran over and pounced on him, licking his face affectionately. The petite nation giggled.

"Aster!" he cried, "Shalom girl! It's nice to see you too!" He sat up and hugged the much larger dog's head. She snuggled up to him. Germany had to give a tiny smile at that.

"Alright Aster, down girl," he said, Aster looked up at her master. "I know you're excited but there will be plenty of time to play with Israel. He's staying here for awhile."

Aster appeared to understand this: she wagged her tail faster and her happy panting increased tenfold. She gave Izzy one last lick on the cheek. The Holy Land giggled.

"There's a good girl Aster!" he squeaked, patting the dog on the head. Israel was so tiny that Aster was practically a horse's size in proportion to him.

_Hm_, thought Germany.

Then without warning Germany picked the boy up and sat him on Aster's back. Israel looked surprised, but then smiled and laughed.

"Giddy up, Aster!" he cried. Aster let out a happy bark then ran around with Israel on her back, Berlitz and Blackie chasing after them. Germany smiled just a barely.

Prussia entered. "Hey, West, what's going on?" Israel steered Aster to a halt in front of his father and uncle.

"Whoah, girl!" he cried as Aster stopped. The boy smiled and cried "hey, Uncle Prussia, look! I'm a cowboy."

Germany, still with his small smile, grabbed and unsharpened pencil off of a nearby desk.

"I think you'd make a better knight," he said, handing it to the Israeli. Izzy took it and beamed even brighter. He lifted his 'sword' in the air.

"Onward, noble steed!" cried Izzy, "to defeat the dragon and rescue the kingdom!" He pointed his 'sword' at Blackie and cried, "there's the dragon! Charge!" Aster chased Blackie, who sprinted away with a yelp. Berlitz sat watching all of this with confusion.

Germany stood watching and smiling. Prussia also smiled and "kesese"'d, then the albino turned to Germany, smiling slyly.

"Hey, West."

"Hm?"

"You are so his Dad."

"I'm not."

"It's official, you're his Dad."

"Prussia…"

"Dad, Dad, Dad…"

"Knock it off!"

"Vati, Vati, Vati!"

"BRUDER!"

Israel laughed. Maybe staying here for awhile wouldn't be so bad.

...

* * *

Yeah, he is so his Dad.

Anywho, chapter two done! Let us go forth!


	3. Stories, Scares and Sleeping

Thanks for the reviews everyone, reviews are my caffeine, I run on them!

For now, lets us continue with our Germany/Israel cuteness!

Enjoy!

...

* * *

After a good few hours of Israel playing with the dogs and Germany and Prussia arguing, 7:00 came. Germany, remembering America's rule, said, "Israel, bedtime."

"Awww…" Israel moaned.

"Now." ordered Germany unflinchingly. Israel sighed; knowing better then to argue when Aba used that tone of voice, he hugged his Uncle and the dogs goodnight and then allowed his father to lead him to his room.

Germany's house wasn't huge, it was big, bigger then most countries homes, but it was no mansion and it was certainly not as big as it had been before the war. To a tiny nation like Israel, however, it was endless.

"So many hallways and rooms!" he cried, "where do all these doors lead to?"

"Different doors lead to different rooms," answered Germany bluntly.

"Where's Uncle Prussia's room?"

"Not up here. He sleeps in the basement."

"Why would he want to sleep in the basement when there are so many rooms available up here?"

"Because…ah…good question." He made a mental note to ask his brother that.

"Am I allowed in the basement?" asked Israel, wanting to know all the places he was and wasn't allowed so he could visit all of them at different times.

"Ja, but I wouldn't were I you."

"Oh! What's that room?" cried Israel excitedly pointing to a door with an 'I' on it. He hoped it might be his room. Germany's face remained expressionless, but his eyes showed a mixture of sadness and anger.

"Italy's room," he answered, "or it was, he hasn't come over since…"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean…" Israel started, looking upset and awkward. Germany cut him off.

"Nein, you don't have to be sorry. It's no big deal." But Israel could tell that it was.

"And here is your room," said Germany, opening a different door and letting the boy walk in. Israel looked around. It was smaller than his room back at Akhi's house, but still nicely spaced. It was so clean it practically sparkled. Israel grinned, ran over to, and leaped unto the bed. He giggled then put Teddy under the covers then tucked himself in.

"Is the room satisfactory?" asked Germany, clearly nervous that the boy wouldn't be happy with the smaller living quarters. He was glad, then, when Israel smiled brightly.

"Ken! Toda, Aba."

"I…it's fine, Israel." Germany turned to leave when Israel suddenly cried out, "Aba!"

"Was?" said the German. The child was hugging his Teddy in fear.

"Monsters," he squeaked, pointing towards the bottom of the bed.

Germany sighed exasperatedly. "There are no such things as…"

"Can you check just in case?"

"Isra-"

"Please?!"

"Fine, fine!" said Germany. He walked back over and glanced under the bed.

"Nothing," he said, coming back up, "just as I said."

"Beseder," said Israel, calming down, "toda."

"Alright, if that's all…"

"Aba!"

"Was?"

"Can you tell me a story?"

"Was?" said Germany, looking down at the boy curiously.

"A story!" cried Israel, sitting up with excitement, "at home, Akhi tells the best stories! With heroes and baddies and space and cowboys and everything!"

"Calm down!" ordered Germany, then he said in a calmer tone, "it's getting late, Israel."

"That's okay. It can be really short. Just something to help me go to sleep."

"I…I'm not the best storyteller, Israel." said Germany, which was an outright lie; he was an extremely good storyteller. However the only stories he knew that might have been considered 'bedtime stories' were the Grimm's fairytales, which, he felt, were far too dark and morbid for a boy as young as him.

"That's okay! Just make it up! Akhi always improvises! Start with once upon a time." Israel lay back down and hugged his Teddy to him.

Germany sighed and took a seat in a nearby chair, wondering where Israel had learned the word 'improvise.' He thought for a second. Make up a story? Hm…

"Once upon a time," Germany said, "there…was a young prince."

"See? Good start!" praised Israel.

Germany heaved another sigh and continued. "This particular prince had anything anybody could ever want. Money, power, vast land…"

"Did he have a castle?"

"Ja, a very big one."

"And friends?"

Germany gave a small chuckle at that, "He had a small family and few friends. He wasn't that outgoing a person."

Germany sighed. "The thing about the prince was that he was very arrogant and egotistical…do you know what that means?"

Israel nodded and said, "it means you think you're better than everyone else."

Germany nodded, "and that's exactly what the prince thought. He thought he should rule more then just his own land. He often took over weaker kingdoms when the opportunity presented itself."

"But then something unthinkable happened. The price lost a war and some of his land, and he was forced to work hard to repay the kingdom he lost to. The prince was furious and humiliated and swore revenge. To get that revenge, he signed a deal with the devil, who promised to get his land back and more."

"For awhile, the prince's kingdom prospered again. The prince got his revenge by taking over his enemy and many other kingdoms. But then the devil started abusing the people of the conquered kingdoms. The prince didn't like this but he had given the devil his land in exchange for his help, so if he said anything the devil could strike him down, he had to do what the devil said or risk his own well being. And while the prince acted very brave and many people considered him to be fearless, the prince was far too frightened that he would be hurt, so he let the devil do as he willed."

"Then the devil started to kill the people of both the prince's and the conquered kingdoms. The prince did nothing out of fear for his life. Some other kings soon decided they had enough and invaded the prince's kingdom. With the kingdom in ruins and armies invading, the devil saw that his work was done and disappeared, never to be seen again."

"After the prince's kingdom was defeated and conquered, one of the kings wanted to kill the prince for what he had allowed. But another king stepped in and spared the prince, even going so far as to help him rebuild his destroyed kingdom. But the prince was never the same. He was eternally ashamed of his mistake and vowed to atone for what he had done."

Germany sighed and looked up at Israel, who was fast asleep, hugging his Teddy bear.

"And the prince isn't going to go back on that promise anytime soon," he finished quietly. He stood up and walked to the door. Glancing back at Israel, he whispered, "Guten nacht, kleine," then turned off the lights, shut the door and walked to his own room.

...

* * *

Germany tossed and turned in his sleep. Nightmares plagued the nation.

He stood in the middle of the broken street. It was Kristalnacht. Broken glass covered the sidewalk and street. Every step he took caused a crunch as the glass broke to smaller shards under his boots.

_He heard a familiar cry and looked up. He saw Israel sitting on the ground sobbing. He walked over to the boy. _

_"Was ist los, mein junge?" he asked, voice echoing slightly as he kneeled down in front of the boy. Israel whimpered._

_"I got glass in my foot," he said, his high-pitched voice echoing. Germany looked and noted a glass wedged into the child's foot with blood dripping out._

_"Hold still," said Germany. He pulled the glass out of the wound. Israel let out a cry of pain. Several drops of blood fell to the ground._

_"Better?" asked Germany, Israel nodded. Germany stood and said, "komm schon, lets go home." Israel nodded and began to stand but his bare feet were susceptible to the shards and more glass wedged itself into the boy's skin. He yelled out in pain as more blood dropped from his wounds. The blood drops seemed to expand as they hit the ground, forming a small puddle of blood at the child's feet. Then, to Germany's great shock and horror, Israel simple fell through the puddle and disappeared._

_"Israel!" he cried. He tried to reach in and grab Israel, but the puddle was now shallow and all he touched was ground. He took his hand out of the puddle and tried to wipe the blood off, but it stuck to him, refusing to leave his hands. _

_He looked back at the puddle. As sign had formed in the center of the dark red puddle of blood. A crooked plus sign. The symbol of hate._

"NEIN!" Germany yelled as he woke up. He sat up, breathing heavily and sweating. He sighed with relief realizing it was just a dream.

_Israel_! he thought suddenly. Although he knew it was a nightmare, he for some reason felt the need to make sure Israel was all right. He leapt out of bed and ran to Israel's room.

Germany opened the door just a crack and peeked inside. Israel had his back turned to the door as he snuggled into his pillow, chest rising and falling.

Germany closed the door then leaned against it and sighed with relief. At least Israel was all right. He kept that thought in his head as he went back to his room.

...

* * *

As soon as the door shut, Izzy opened an eye, then sat up and looked at the door. Israel was anything but a deep sleeper, one of the necessary qualities to be a Jewish nation was to be able to wake up in a split second to flee or fight.

The boy looked at Teddy and said, "That must have been Aba."

He made Teddy nod in agreement.

"He must have had a bad dream or something. You think it was about me?"

He made Teddy shrug a shoulder.

"I see," said Izzy. He thought for a minute, and then said, "Should I go try and comfort him?"

He made Teddy nod. Izzy smiled.

"Thought so. You wont be scared here by yourself, will you?"

He made Teddy shake his head.

"Akla! Toda, you're a brave bear."

...

* * *

Germany was lying down and trying to go back to sleep when there was a knock at his door.

"Wer ist da?" he said, by reflex putting his hand on the gun he kept on a dresser.

"Ani!" came a small voice. Germany sighed, took his hand off the gun and sat up as Israel entered.

"Israel," said the German in a no-nonsense voice, "what is it?"

"Sorry," squeaked the Jewish nation, "I had a bad dream." This was not true and even if it were Israel only ever got afraid to the point of not being able to sleep by himself if it was raining or if he was certain he'd seen a monster.

Germany didn't know this, though, and simply nodded in understanding thinking, _you're not the only one._

"Can I sleep here for the night?" asked Israel. Germany was a bit shocked and thought for a minute. On one hand, he didn't want Israel to be afraid and not sleep the rest of the night, on the other it would be very awkward and…

"Aba! Please?" said Israel, using his sad-puppy eyes. Effective weapon. Germany relented.

"Fine, but only because you had a bad dream," he said. Israel nodded.

"Toda!" he said, shutting the door. Germany lay back down and rolled over to his side. He expected Israel to hop into the spot Italy had used to sleep in, on the other side of the bed.

So he was very surprised when he felt something wriggle under his arm. He looked down and surly enough, there was Israel. Germany was speechless as Israel snuggled in, yawned, said "layla tov, Aba," then put his head down and quickly fell asleep.

Germany stared down at the now asleep child, that odd feeling returned to his stomach with twice its usual strength. He half wanted to tell Israel to go to the other side of the bed but that would require waking him and he would much rather let sleeping hyperactive children lie. So he simply put his head down and with the occasional glance down at the child and pondering what that odd feeling was, he eventually managed to fall asleep.

...

* * *

And to Germany's great surprise and delight, after Israel moved in with him and he fell asleep, he dreamed of absolutely nothing. Nothing at all. One moment he was awake, then the next he was blinking sleep out of his eyes, having had neither a good dream nor a nightmare. This may not have seemed like a big deal, but to Germany, who had literally not had a good nights sleep since WWII, it was a very nice treat not to wake up in a panic, heart racing as if he'd ran six miles.

Instead after waking up and realizing his good fortune, he glanced down at Israel, who still slept. He couldn't help but give a small smile as that odd feeling returned at seeing the boy with his dark hair a mess curled on his side snoozing. He very slowly and carefully stood up, got dressed, brushed his hair back and went downstairs. He had to prepare for his guests that would be arriving soon.

...

* * *

Everyone together now: awwwww!

Translations:

German:

Guten nacht, kleine= Good night, little one. Was ist los, mein junge?= what's wrong, my boy? Komm schon= come on Was= what Wer ist da?= Who is there?

Hebrew:

Toda=thanks akla=cool Ani= I am! Layla tov= Good night

Kristalnacht: The Night of Broken Glass, most of you should know what this is but for those of you who don't, on the night of November 9 in 1938 the Nazis set about smashing and looting the stores and homes of German Jews, killing and deporting Jews to concentration camps. This is considered to be the beginning of the Holocaust.

Germany's Bedtime Story: Guess what that was an allegory for.

That's all for this chapter folks, but we've got a lot more to go! Next chapter: guest stars!


	4. Aunt and Uncle

Hey, guys, I had some extra time on my hands and got done editing this so I decided to update early! Enjoy!

...

* * *

Sun from the window beamed unto the bed and the sleeping Israel, who twitched and then opened his eyes. He smiled. God always made sure he got up on time! The boy glanced over his shoulder. Aba wasn't there; he must have already woken up. He looked at the clock, 7:00, the same time he got up every morning except Saturday. Aba must have gotten up early! At Akhi's house, Israel was always the first to awake. He woke Akhi up so they could go out and play and have adventures as soon as possible. Israel smiled thinking of his brother, then hopped out of bed (being sure to fix it, remembering how strict Aba was about neatness) then he said his morning prayer facing Jerusalem, adding in a request that God keep his brother safe. After that, he opened to door to exit Aba's room.

The second he stepped into the hall, beautiful music hit his ear. He perked his ear up to listen and smiled, being a music lover. He followed the sound of the music until he found himself in the living room.

Israel was surprised to see two new people. A man with black hair sat at a piano, fingers moving quickly and precisely across the keys. A woman stood on one side of the man. She had auburn hair and wore a pretty dress. Aba stood on the man's other side. All three had their backs to Israel and were entirely focused on the piano. Israel would have allowed his natural need to be the center of attention get the better of him if it weren't for the fact that he himself was enticed by the music.

When the song ended and the man stopped playing, Israel immediately clapped his hands. The three adults turned to him. Israel saw that the man wore glasses and had an odd mark below his chin that Israel had the urge to poke with a thumbtack to see if it would deflate, and the woman was very pretty with sparkly green eyes.

"Shalom," said Israel, "that was very pretty music."

"Danke," said the man with a curt nod. Something about this man struck Israel as strict, not strict like Aba, who was far more militarily strict, more like a cross-librarian kind of strict that made Israel a little nervous.

"Ah, Guten Morgen, Israel," said Germany, "Austria, sister, this is Israel. Israel," he gestured to the man, "this is my brother Austria," he gestured to the woman, "and my sister, Hungary."

"Oh!" cried Hungary, hands flying over her mouth at seeing the little boy. She ran over, picked the boy up and gave him a squeezing hug.

"Hello, Israel! Look at you! You're even cuter then you were before! You're so grown up!"

"T-To-da…" chocked Israel in response, turning blue.

"AIR, SISTER! HE NEEDS AIR!" cried Germany. Hungary obeyed and held the child out at arm length, smiling in a big-sister-like fashion. Israel breathed deeply to recover for lost oxygen then smiled back.

"I'm Hungary, but you can call me Aunt Hungary."

"Nein he can't!"

"Oh, don't be silly, Germany, of course he can!" she whispered to Israel, "don't mind him, he's just stubborn. Takes after his brother like that."

"Hey!" yelled Austria and Germany, who had very good hearing. Israel giggled and Hungary put him back down.

"Nice to meet you, Aunt Hungary," said Israel brightly, extremely happy to have new family members, "have we met before?"

Hungary laughed a little bit, "oh, yes, but you wouldn't remember it. You were just a baby. We were at the meeting after you declared your independence."

"Oh, ken! Toda for that Aunt Hungary. You are very nice and pretty and…"

"Ahem!" said Austria stepping foreword and interrupting Israel's traditional bluntness.

"Then you must be my nephew," said the aristocrat.

"Nein he isn't!"

"I am Austria, the land of Bach and Mozart…"

"Nein you're not!"

"Shalom, I'm Israel, the land of sand and Jewish stuff," said Israel, shaking his Uncle's hand with energy that clearly shocked the stiff aristocrat. Austria cleared his throat in a dignified way and rubbed his hand, which started to go red thanks to Israel's tight grasp.

"It's nice to meet you," said the young nation cheerily, not noticing the effects of his unusual strength, "I didn't know I had an Aunt or another uncle!"

"That's because you don't," muttered Germany. "Israel, go brush your hair and then come back down."

"Oh, does he have to?" said Hungary, "he looks so cute with his hair all messy like this! Kind of like you did when you were a kid." Germany turned red with embarrassment and cried "sister!"

Israel laughed a little then said, "I'll go get brushed up, Aba." Then the young nation ran out of the room. Aster spotted the boy and followed.

The sink was too far up for Israel to reach, so he ran into another room and using his unusual strength for a country his size, carried a chair to the bathroom. Aster trotted behind him. Israel had a bit of a hard time climbing up onto the chair and at one point he almost fell off. Luckily Aster was there, she used her head to catch his foot and lift him up so that he could yank himself unto the chair.

"Toda, Aster," he said. Aster panted happily.

Israel brushed his hair and washed his face and did all the other morning sanitary requirements, then ran back to the living room, Aster following.

To his surprise, nobody was in the living room. He glanced around and considered going to look for the adults, but then he saw the piano abandoned.

"Hey, Aster," he said to the dog, "think you can help me up to a chair again?"

...

* * *

Germany and his two siblings had gone into the other room to discuss (what else?) Israel.

"He's so adorable!" cried Hungary; "he's just like Ita when he was a little boy. Except he dresses differently….say…"

"No you may not put him in a dress," said Germany.

"Oh, but he'd be so cute and…"

"_Nein_."

"Oh, fine, be that way," she said with a slight pout. Germany rolled his eyes. Hungary and her weird obsession with kids.

Hungary's smile returned as she said, "he reminds me of you when you were little too."

"Was? How?" said Germany, who couldn't remember himself acting like Israel for even a second when he was a child. He had been very shy and quiet, Israel was the opposite.

Hungary claimed, "When he said 'have we met before' he sounded just like you did!"

"Hm," said Germany with a slight nod. He supposed Israel's serious side was reminiscent of him.

"He's got your eyes too, did you notice?"

"Hm."

Hungary let out a sigh of exasperation at her brother's stiffness.

"Do you think he'll be safe here?" asked Germany. Hungary shrugged.

"I doubt you'll hurt him and as long as you're near I doubt anybody else will try to," she said and Germany nodded. Germany may not have been the strongest of the nations but he certainly wasn't somebody you'd look at and go "oh, yeah, I wanna mess with _his _kid."

"Ja, Ich weiss, but still. My home is not free of Nazis, there are still threats."

"Then you'll just have to keep a close watch on him," said Hungary, Germany nodded once more. Hungary then smiled and said "but it is really sweet that you're protective of him."

"I-its purely for historical reasons!" cried Germany.

"Mm hm," said Hungary, smiling slyly.

"Really! There is no familial relationship!"

"Okay 'Aba'," said Hungary.

"He insists on calling me that!"

"Whatever you say," said the Hungarian. Germany sighed.

"I think it's a good thing, you taking some responsibility for once," said Austria, "good that you're not taking the Prussia Route."

Germany smiled a bit, "hey, he's not that irresponsible. He did raise me as much as you both did."

"Ja, and did he not also allow you to drink beer at age six?" mused Austria.

"Okay, decent point," Germany consented.

"Well, I should warn you that as the boy's father…"

"For the billionth time, _I am not his father_! The fact that we have the same eyes does not automatically make us related."

"Well, what about the fact that he wouldn't exist if not for your actions?" Austria pointed out. Germany rubbed his temples.

"I suppose," said he, "but still, that…"

"Oh, just let it go, you two!" commanded Hungary. She pointed to Germany and said "You are his father whether you accept it or not," she turned to her ex-husband and said, "its best not to argue with him, you know his attitude about showing emotions."

Germany opened his mouth to claim that his relationship with Israel was based on moral obligation only and therefore he had no emotions to show, however he was stopped by the sound of simple yet pretty music. The trio perked their ears up to listen.

All three then walked back into the living room and to their surprise, there was Israel, sitting on the stool, straining his little neck to see over the keyboard as he improvised a rhythm. Aster laid down next to the stool, contently wagging her tail to the simple rhythm.

Israel finished and Austria politely clapped. Israel's head snapped to look at the adults and he went slightly pink in embarrassment.

"Sehr gut," said Austria, "where did you learn how to play that?"

"I-I don't know," squeaked Israel, "it just came to me. There have been Jewish songwriters, y'know."

"I see," said Austria with a nod. He walked over and sat next to the boy, "do you know how to read musical notes?"

"Lo," said Israel, looking up at his uncle with curiosity.

"Let me teach you," said Austria, opening a nearby music booklet. Israel beamed at the prospect of learning something new. With that, Austria began to teach Israel how to play piano. A few times, Israel goofed up and Austria scolded him, but by the end of the lesson, Israel was able to play an entire song without glancing down at the keys. Israel was a fast learner.

At the end of his song, Austria nodded with approval and Hungary and Germany applauded, Israel smiled widely at the praise.

"Gut," said Austria, "is there a piano at your brother's house?"

"Lo."

"Well then, while you're here, be sure to practice, music is…" then he went into a long speech about how important music was. Israel began to feel dizzy again. Germans and their speeches! Couldn't they ever just say what they wanted to say in a sentence or less?! At some point, Israel began to fall asleep on the piano, his head in his arms. Hungary smiled and gave a little laugh, and she was delighted to see Germany smile a little as well.

...

* * *

Everyone together now: awwww!

Explanation time!

Translations:

German:

Sehr gut= very good

Hebrew:

Lo= no

"Every morning except Saturday": Saturday being the Jewish Sabbath.

Austria is Germany's brother: Yeah, I ascribe to the 'Austria is Germany's brother' theory, since Austria ran part of Germany for some time, they're so close and lets face it, doesn't Austria act like a nagging big brother to Germany?

Hungary wants to put him in a dress: Of course she does. And Israel's probably not gonna be any happier about that than Germany is considering the fact that Judaism forbids cross-dressing.

"Couldn't they ever just say what they wanted to say in a sentence or less":

**Germany: Nein, you see I cant merely sum up what I say in a sentence or less because there is a need to...**

_(Goes on and on, Israel moans.)_

**Israel: ****_(sigh)_**** you either speak too much or too little, y'know, Aba…**

**Germany: I'm not your Aba!**

Anywho, to be continued soon!


	5. Tag!

After a verbal spanking from Austria about not falling asleep when people were speaking, Israel began to get cabin fever and asked to go play outside like he usually did when at Aba's house. Aba said yes and the three adult nations followed the Holy Land outside.

Israel took a deep grateful breath of air as soon as he stepped outside. He spotted a bird and promptly ran after it, laughing with delight when it fluttered away, he looked up at his Aba and his playful instincts kicked in.

"At home," he said to the German, "Akhi and I play outside all the time."

"What games do you play?" asked Germany, not really curious but feeling it was the correct response.

Israel smiled mischievously and said "like…_tag, you're it_!" Then, without warning, he tagged Germany's leg and ran off laughing. Germany stood shocked.

"What do I do?" he asked, turning to Hungary. She laughed a tad. Germany had had no friends as a child and therefore didn't know any typical kids games.

"You're supposed to chase him," the Hungarian said. Germany looked confused.

"Chase him? Why?" he said. The language of fun was indeed absent from the German's vocabulary.

"It's a game," Hungary tried to explain, "you chase him and try to tag him and when you do he chases you."

But her explanation only succeeded in further confusing the German. "Why? I don't get it. That appears to be a never-ending cycle, no prize to win or ultimate goal to reach."

"It's just a game!"

"But still, it doesn't make sense…"

"Aba! Come on!" cried Israel from wherever he had run off to, "you're gonna lose!"

Germany looked quite torn and confused. Hungary, feeling pity for her brother, decided the only way to get him to go along with the game would be to put it into a concept he could understand.

"Think of it as training," she said, "practice for if he ever needs to run for his life."

"Oh," said Germany, nodding in understanding, "that makes sense. Alright then." With that he finally ran off to where Israel had yelled from. Hungary shook her head wondering how anybody could be as disjointed from fun as her brother was.

Germany searched the yard for a good ten minutes but he didn't find the boy anywhere.

"Israel?" he yelled out. Panic began to set in. What if somebody had seen Israel while he was talking to Hungary and…

"Gotcha Aba!" cried Israel, leaping out of nowhere and latching unto Germany's leg. Germany sighed with relief and felt a bit embarrassed on how worried he had been. Being concerned for the boy's safety was one thing but why did the mere thought of Israel getting hurt cause Germany to become so panicked so quickly?

Nonetheless, Germany calmed down at seeing Israel okay and even gave a small chuckle in response to the boy's laughter. "Wait," aid the German, "I thought I was trying to catch _you."_

Hungary smiled and turned to her ex-husband.

"Isn't that sweet?" she said. Austria simply gave a "humph" and a curt nod.

"Oh," said the Hungarian teasingly, "you're sad."

"Was?" said Austria, looking at his ex-wife in genuine confusion.

"You're sad he's all grown up," said the Hungarian, "you're just like Prussia, you miss your little brother."

"I-I do not!" cried Austria, turning red in embarrassment and looking at the ground. Hungary shook her head. Men. You couldn't live with them, you couldn't sell them to third world countries.

"Can't catch me!"

"Wait a minute! I tagged you! Shouldn't you be trying to catch me?"

"I changed the rules!"

"Was?!"

"Chase me!"

"Get back here!"

Israel ducked behind his Aunt's leg and smiling up at her cried, "Aunt Hungary! Protect me!"

She smiled playfully and said, "No, I don't think I will. I think I'll sacrifice you."

"Lo! Lo!" cried Israel, laughing and squirming as Hungary pushed him towards Germany, who promptly grabbed him by the back of his collar, lifted him up and shook him a dash.

"Wh-oa-oa-oa!" stuttered the laughing Israeli.

"Make up your mind about who is the tagger," said Germany, smiling just a hint.

"B-b-b-ese-der, I-I'm I-it!" cried the boy. Germany, satisfied, put him down. Israel sat there, head spinning dizzily.

"Are you okay?" asked Germany, sounding concerned.

"I-I guess so," said Israel, sounding woozy, "Except…_you're it_!" he cried suddenly tagging Germany's leg and running off laughing with victory.

"_Was_?! You sneaky little…get back here!"

...

* * *

And that's all for this chapter, folks, hmmm, I'm updating rather fast, fortunately school hasn't quite started yet so I do have extra time on my hands. So I guess I'll be back soo-

**Disembodied Voice: Oooooooh~!**

Huh? What was that?

**Disembodied Voice: Oooooooh~!**

_(Author shivers nervously and pulls out a menorah, holding it like a weapon.)_

I-I'm warning you, whoever you are! Come out now, I'm armed and dangerous!

**Disembodied Voice: Oooooooh~! Auuuuthooooooor!**

What?!

_(Author turns and spots a ghostly visage appearing behind her.)_

GYAH!

**Ghost: Ooooooh, I am the Ghost of Adolf Hitler!**

_(Author is surprised and curious)_ The Ghost of Adolf Hitler?

**Ghost of Adolf Hitler: Yeeeees, oooooohhhh, I'm here to haunt you, Author 1945**

…Why?

**Ghost of Adolf Hitler: Why? What do you mean why? I'm the ghost of Adolf Hitler, you're a Jew! Me Hitler, me no likie Jews!**

Yeeeeaaah, but that's my point, you're the Ghost of Adolf Hitler, why are you bothering with me? Shouldn't you be in Israel trying to destroy it or Germany trying to take it over again?

**GAH: Erg…yeah, well I tried going to Israel but, well…**

**Israel: ISRAELI RAGE!**

**GAH: Yeah, didn't work out and I tried to get to Germany but the flight got cancelled and ugh, airlines just aren't good for former dictators!**

Okaaay…Ghost of Adolf Hitler…God my life is weird….well, how are you even here, shouldn't you be burning in the pits of hell?

**GAH: I offered to do the devil a…special favor if he would let me come up for some time**.

'Special Favor'…?

**GAH: You don't wanna know.**

I probably don't. Well, what do you want?

**GAH: I am here to take over the world of course, and after I finish you off so that you cant hope to foil my plans…**

Which I probably wouldn't have been aware of if you hadn't told me…

**GAH: I shall return to my fatherland and with his help we will take down the nation of Israel! ****_Mwahahahaha!_**

That would be a great plan….except Germany wont go along with it.

**GAH: ****_Mwahaha_****!….wait, what?**

Germany and Israel are friends, dummy, he's not gonna agree top help you try and kill his own son!

**GAH:...friends?**

_(Author nods.)_

**GAH: (****_curses_****) oh, great! Real great! I go through all of this trouble to try and make him hate all the Jews and what does he do? What does he do?**

He befriends one…

**GAH: He befriends one! Perfect, I labor day and night and he just tosses it out, there's gratitude for ya! Ugh, I cant believe this, Stalin's gonna be making fun of me for a week!**

Sucks to be you.

**GAH: Don't patronize me you little Jew, I may have been set back, but I shall make it so that Germany and Israel are not friends!**

Not on your life, Hitler, if you wanna get to them you'll have to go through me! HI-YA!

_(Author kicks him into a wall)_

**GAH: Ooof! OW! Damn, these Jews are getting stronger, you may have won for now, Author, but rest assured, I'lll be baaaack!**

_(GAH runs from the room, Author sighs.)_

Well, that was…different…ahem, sorry about that folks but no need to worry, I can handle anything he dishes out and I'll try and keep him at bay, until then tune in soon for the next…

**GAH: ****_(peeks back into room)_**** hey, can I borrow your cell phone? I really need to call the airport and see if…**

OUT!

_(Shoots at him and he flees once more.)_

_(Sigh)_ I'll be back soon.


	6. Uncle Prussia

Hello, everybody, I am the Author 1945 and we're back with…

**Ghost of Adolf Hitler: Oooooh, I am the Ghost of Adolf Hitler!**

Oh, crap. You're gonna be annoying me for the rest of the damn story, aren't you?!

**GAH: I shall not rest until my work is complete! Germany will hate Israel if it's the last thing I do!**

Leave Izzy and Germany alone, Addy! They're adorable, just ask the audience! Besides, Germany has his awesome brother around! You don't stand a chance! Oh, and speaking of Prussia, we have a short chapter involving him! Enjoy folks, and I'll try to keep this idiot at bay in the meantime!

**GAH: Oooooh, you wont be able to st-**

_(Author punches him in the face.)_

_..._

* * *

Israel was very sad when Hungary and Austria had to leave at the end of the day. But Hungary promised that they would be back soon (Austria just 'humphed') and with that they both went back to their designated homes.

"Hey, Aba," said Israel once the other nations left, walking over to where Germany was sitting and reading, "where is Uncle Prussia? I haven't seen him all day."

"He's…" Germany started to say, but then he stopped. Where _was_ Prussia?

"That's a good question, I don't know."

"D'you think something bad happened to him?" asked Israel, sounding worried. Germany shook his head.

"Doubtful, if I know Prussia…"

The front door opened and slammed shut, then came a call of "WEST!"

"…he'll be home right about now."

Prussia entered with his arms crossed behind his back and his typical cocky smile on. Germany stood up and crossed his arms stubbornly.

"Where have you been?" he asked with clear anger. Prussia just continued to smile.

"Out," he said simply. Germany's glare intensified.

"_Where?!_" he demanded.

"Just went to town, wanted to be out of the house while specs was here."

Germany relaxed a bit at that, "fine, danke, I guess. I have work to do."

"You didn't finish it earlier?" said Prussia, frowning slightly, not used to his brother not completing his work first thing.

Germany went slightly red and looked at the floor, "I…erg…well…I was preoccupied and…ah…never mind! Just watch Israel while I get my work done!"

"Sure thing," said Prussia, grinning since he knew that "I was preoccupied" was just West's way of saying, "I was spending time with Israel."

As soon as Germany left, Prussia smiled down at Izzy and said, "Hey, nephs, can you keep a secret?"

"Sure!" said Israel, grinning. Prussia gestured for Israel to follow. Israel now saw what was behind his Uncle's back, a shopping bag. Israel, puzzled, followed his Uncle, curiosity peaked.

Prussia led Israel to his room in the basement. Israel could see why Aba had suggested not to go down there. In contrast to the other rooms in the house, it was rather untidy, though by normal house standards it wasn't so much messy as overstuffed. There were many old-looking weapons on the walls, pictures of what Israel assumed was a king, a Prussian flag, a very neat looking suit of armor hanging on the wall, a bird's cage and, what gave Israel the giggles, multiple items with cute animals (mostly chicks) on them.

"Uncle Prussia," said Israel, "what's with all the plushy stuff?"

"It's a bit of a habit of mine," said Prussia, opening the shopping bag he had and adding more cute things to his collection, "I can't resist cute stuff when I see it in the store."

"So you buy it every time?" asked Izzy, "that's a bad habit."

Prussia cackled and said, "an _awesome_ habit! Kesese!"

"Aba would be pretty mad if he found out about this…" said Israel with a sly grin.

"And…?" said Prussia.

"I wont tell," said Israel, grinning, "if you'll let me play with the toys."

Prussia laughed and said, ""Knew ya' inherited some of my genes! It's a deal!"

...

* * *

Just a little short chapter for you guys, so now lets get to the next…

**GAH: ****_(shoots at Author)_**** I don't think so, you're not gonna narrate this any farther, Author.**

Whoah! _(ducks and covers)_ ha! Missed me!

(_GAH pulls out another gun. Author shudders.)_

Yipe! _(ducks, grabs laptop and runs into the other room, slamming and locking the door behind her.)_

**GAH: You cant hide there, Author! I'm a ghost! I can phase through!**

Darn it, darn it, darn it! Gotta think fast_. (looks over and sees menorah nearby)_ Aha!

**_(GAH phases through the door and sees her holding the menorah)_**** ha! What do you propose to do with that?**

_(Author holds menorah up and light shines from it, GAH recoils)_ Ha! Light from a menorah, like a cross to a vampire!

**GAH: ****_(hisses)_**** darn it! Fine, but I'll be back, Author, you cant stay here forever and when you leave, you're mine!**

(_GAH flees and Author sighs with relief and lowers menorah.)_

That was close. _(Sigh)_ That's it I have to find a way to get rid of this guy…I'll try and think of something and be back when I do!

(*For those of you who don't know, the menorah is a candle-holder with eight holders that Jews light on Hanukah*)


	7. Counting

_(Author is speaking on the phone)_ Yeah, I'm still locked in the room, I used my menorah to keep him at bay but I can only stay here for so long...can you? Okay, thanks _(hangs up phone.)_

Oh! Hey guys, nice to see you again. Yeah, the bad news is I'm still stuck here waiting for help to deal with the Ghost of Adolf Hitler. The good news is that since I'm stuck here I managed to finish editing this chapter. Enjoy!

...

* * *

Israel was very happy and excited. He now had complete access to Uncle's collection of cute toys and he had met two new friends, all in one day! He was so hyped up that when 7:00 came, he found himself unable to sleep. Instead, he explored his room, stared out the window and jumped on the bed, laughing happily.

Germany walked by Israel's room about an hour after putting the boy to bed (or at least thinking he had done so) and instantly heard the boy's laughing. He opened the door and saw Israel jumping on the bed, laughing.

"Israel!" he yelled. Israel stopped jumping in mid-air. He landed on the bed with a tiny "oof!" and then looked up at his father and smiled.

"Shalom, Aba!" he cried, ignoring Germany's stern expression.

"Israel, its 8:00. You're supposed to be asleep!"

"I know," said the boy, bouncing on the bed a little bit, clearly barely keeping his energy in, "but I'm all excited 'cause of the fun day I had and I can't sleep!"

Germany let out a sigh of exasperation. _Children_.

"Well you need to sleep," said Germany in a no-compromise tone, "all human beings…"

"But I'm a country!"

"…and countries need at the very least eight hours of sleep in order to maintain a healthy…"

_Oh boy, another speech_, thought Israel. He suddenly began to feel sleepy again.

"Israel, are you listening?!" snapped Germany at one point when Israel was zoning out.

"Huh?! Oh, ken!" cried Israel, snapping out of it.

"Then head on pillow and to bed _now_."

Israel groaned.

"Jetz!"

Israel obeyed and crawled back to the top of the bed and, grabbing his teddy, laid his head on the pillow. Germany cocked an eyebrow.

"Israel," he said, "why don't you have your blanket over you?"

Israel shrugged and said, "I'm not cold."

Germany shook his head. "That doesn't matter," he said, walking over and yanking the covers over the boy, "as it gets later the temperature drops. If you don't cover yourself, you might catch a cold…"

"I gets colds all the time," interrupted Israel, excitedly sitting up, "whenever I play in the snow! I guess that's 'cause I'm a desert country so I'm not used to the snow…"

"Down," ordered Germany, pushing the excitable boy back unto his pillow. Israel giggled.

"I'm still not tired though," said the Holy Land, smiling brightly. Germany sighed.

"Hey! I've got an idea!" said Israel, arm shooting up with his index finger pointing up in a 'eureka' position, "When I cant sleep at home, Akhi counts to me! He's got a really good counting voice!"

"America counts you to sleep?"

"Ken! All the time!"

"I see," said Germany, smiling slightly, "I had to do something similar with my brother once."

"Really? Why?"

"He wouldn't stop bothering me, long story and no I will not tell you now," he said as Israel grinned his 'tell me anyways' grin, "you need to sleep."

"Then count to me. Please? Just a bit?" begged Israel.

"Ahhh…"

Israel made puppy eyes.

"…alright, fine, lay down."

Israel obeyed.

"Alright," said Germany. Then he suddenly stood up straight like he was in training and yelled "COUNTOFF! EINS! ZWEI!…"

He stopped as he looked down at Israel, who was sitting up straight and saluting. For some reason he couldn't understand, that gave him the urge to chuckle, but he managed to repress that.

"Sorry, sorry," he said, lightly pushing Israel back down, "natural habit. I'll try again. Israel nodded, but still looked a bit jumpy.

Germany sighed and restarted his counting, this time in a much calmer, less military sergeant form.

"Eins, zwei, drei, vier…"

Israel was surprised. Aba was a very good counter. Not as good as Akhi (Israel felt a fresh ache for his big brother) but very good nonetheless.

"…feunf, sechs, sieben, acht…"

Israel yawned, "hey, Aba, you're very good at counting."

Germany opened his mouth to object at being called 'Aba', but at seeing the boy's eyes half-closed, decided to just finish the task at hand.

"…neun, zehn, zwolf, dreizehn, veirzehn…"

Israel let out a final yawn and sleepily muttered "layla tov, Aba," before shutting his eyes and immediately dozing off.

"…sechzehn, siebzehn…" Germany stopped counting at seeing Israel slumbering.

"Hm, finally asleep," he muttered to himself. Israel let out a small yawn and snuggled into his pillow. Germany smiled as that odd feeling returned to his stomach. _He is quite cute when he's asleep and quiet_, thought the German. He absentmindedly stroked the child's hair a bit. Then, however, he stopped and shook his head. _Ach! Why does that keep happening?! Obligation only, Deutschland, obligation only._

With that thought, Germany walked out of the room, but not before glancing back at the sleeping child and, as much as he tried not to, giving a small smile.

...

* * *

Explanation time!

Translations:

German:

Jetz= now Germany's counting= from one to seventeen

Germany's counting: Both this and America's counting from _Israel's Intro_ was a reference to the Hetalia Goodnight with Sheep CDs which are on youtube if you wanna check them out, which you should, they're so cute!

So, Germany is really getting attached to Izzy! Yay, hopefully he'll accept it soon and until then, its up to me to keep them safe from…

_Ding Dong!_

Oh! Awesome, sounds like she's here! I've gotta go answer that, but I'll be back soon!


	8. Mein Schatz

_(Author answers the door)_ Christie! Thank God you came, I was starting to think…

**Christie the Christian Missionary: Cut the chit-chat, Author! I heard you had a ghost problem!**

Yeah, yeah, I do! The Ghost of Adolf Hitler…

**Christie:?**

Yeah, weird to me too…anyway, he's been haunting me for the last couple of days, I was only barely able to keep him at bay. He wants to get Germany and Izzy to hate each other so he can take over again!

**Christie: Really? Well, he shouldn't have that hard a time, we should hurry then!**

Wait, what do you mean he wont have that hard of a time?

**Christie: Germany is tsundre as heck! He doesn't even admit he likes Izzy!**

Oh? Well, you may be right at the moment, but this chapter may very well change that!

...

* * *

"Alright, nephs! The awesome me will now show you how to make an arrow!"

"Akla!" cried Israel, beaming. It had been nearly a month since Israel had been sent to live with Germany, and it didn't look like America or the others were going to be back any time soon. Israel had been spending most of his time exploring the house, playing outside with the dogs, and of course, having his Uncle teach him how to do various 'awesome' things like make and use weapons.

"Kesese! First, you take the point of the arrow. Make sure it's extra sharp so that it'll fly right through the un-awesome enemy!"

Israel gently touched the point with his finger. "It's sharp," he said, wringing his hand.

"Awesome! Next you…"

"ISRAEL!"

Prussia rolled his red eyes, "oh boy…"

"In here, Aba! In Uncle's room!"

Germany ran in and at seeing Israel okay, sighed with relief.

"There you are, I was worried," he said. Israel nodded. Germany had been getting more and more protective of Israel the longer the boy stayed at his house. Germany wouldn't admit it, but the longer the boy stayed, the more that odd feeling in his stomach came on. Germany was, whether he admitted it or not, getting attached to the boy.

Germany saw the various arrow parts strewn around the floor, cocked an eyebrow curiously and asked Israel what he was doing.

"Uncle's teaching me how to make arrows!" said the boy, smiling. Germany nodded.

"Oh, okay…wait…WAS?!" cried the German, turning to his brother and angrily yelling, "Bruder! Don't let the two-year old hold an arrow!"

"Hey!" cried Israel defensively, "I'm not _two_, I'm already three years old!" The boy held up three fingers to emphasize his point.

"Yeah, West, lighten up. He's perfectly safe. The Awesome me is watching him after all! Kesese!"

Germany slapped his palm to his forehead, "if anything that only makes me more nervous. _No arrows_!"

Prussia rolled his eyes, "fine, West, whatever you say."

"Gut," said Germany with an approving nod, "I have work to do. Watch Israel and _keep him out of harms way_."

"Ja, ja," said the albino, waving his brother off, "I gotcha."

Germany nodded, then turned on his heel and walked off.

"Killjoy," Prussia muttered, "where was I? Oh ja! So you take the arrow head and…"

"But Uncle Prussia!" cried Israel, "Aba said no arrows!"

"Rule number one of how to live with West yet still be awesome, nephs," said Prussia with a smirk, "nein means ja."

Israel cocked an eyebrow. That didn't make any sense. Then again, who was he to talk about always following Aba's orders? So he allowed his Uncle to continue to teach him until eventually he had made eleven reasonably sturdy arrows.

"Awesome job!" said Prussia, "we can go shooting next week when West is in a meeting with his boss."

"Shooting for what?" asked the boy, smiling naïvely

"Oh, deer, rabbits…"

"Lo!" cried Israel, horrified at the prospect, "I don't wanna hurt the animals!"

"Then what would we shoot at?" asked Prussia, perking an eyebrow.

"Uhhh… we could paint bulls eyes and shoot at those!"

"Can I paint my bull's-eye in the shape of Russia?"

"Uhhh…keeeen…"

"Sounds awesome to me then!" said Prussia beaming.

Israel put their arrows in a corner and looked up to face a picture of what looked like an old king. The Holy Land tilted his head curiously and then noticed that pictures of the same man were all around the room.

"Hey, Uncle," said Israel, pointing to the painting, "who's that?"

Prussia looked to where the boy was pointing and then frowned sadly.

"That's Old Fritz," said the Prussian, gloom evident in his voice.

"Old Fritz? Who's that?" asked the boy.

"Only the awesomest leader the awesome me and the world has ever known!" said Prussia proudly, "Old Fritz was the best!" His grin faltered as he admitted, "I hope he's watching over me."

Israel, however, smiled in comprehension. "Naturally he is! If he was a good person and you really miss him then he must be watching you! I should know, I'm the holy land!"

"Expert opinion appreciated," said Prussia, smiling.

"No problem. So, what did…" Israel started to ask, but then there was a ring at the door.

"I'LL GET IT, WEST!" yelled Prussia, eager to steer the conversation away from his deceased boss, "C'mon, nephs!"

Israel followed his uncle out of the basement and to the front door. Prussia smirked when he opened it and saw who it was. Israel beamed.

"Aunt Hungary! Uncle Austria!" he cried, running foreword and hugging his Aunt's leg. Hungary laughed and picked the Holy Land up in a squeezing hug.

"Told you we'd be back soon!" he said happily.

"It's …_ugh_…nice to see you…_gah_…Aunt Hungary!" the boy choked from her tight embrace. He squirmed and managed to escape her grasp, jumping to the floor.

Prussia cackled and Hungary and Austria glared.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't specs!" Prussia thumped the aristocrat on the back. Hungary thwapped the albino on the head with a frying pan (Israel distinctly wondered where she'd pulled that from.)

"Ow!" cried Prussia, rubbing his sore head, "what was that for, babe?"

_Clang!_

"Ow!"

"Call me 'babe' again and I smack what few brain cells you have out of your head!" Hungary yelled angrily, "and leave Mr. Austria alone!"

"Why am I the only sophisticated nation around?" mused Austria.

"What's so-fis-ti-cated?" asked Israel.

"Civilized, proper," Austria explained, "unlike Prussia."

"Civilized shimivilized, I'm…"

"Awesome," Hungary and Austria completed in a bored monotone.

"Kesese!"

"Where is your father?" Austria asked the Israeli.

"In his office working," responded Israel.

"Humph," said Austria, "well, he'd better hurry or else this cake I went through all the trouble to…"

"Did you say cake?!" cried Israel, eyes going wide and shining in excitement as he suddenly noticed a small platter in his Uncle's hands. Austria glared.

"Don't interrupt!" he commanded sharply, "and yes, I did make a cake. It's…"

"Can I have some?!" cried Israel, eyes gleaming with sweet hunger, "please?! Please?! Please?!"

"Only if you're quiet!" said Austria irritably. Israel nodded and zipped his lip. The two nations entered the home and Prussia led then to the living room. Austria set the cake down on the coffee table and Israel quickly ran into the kitchen, grabbed a fork and ran back. He tried some cake and his eyes widened.

"Ooooh, its really good!" he cried happily, "I've never had cake this good!"

Austria nodded in approval. Prussia said, "Well, then you've obviously never tried Wes-"

Hungary slapped her hand across his mouth to silence him. "Shhh! He told us not to tell anyone that!"

"Tell anyone what?" asked Israel.

"Nothing!" cried all the elder nations in unison. Israel looked at them curiously. _Grown-ups are weird_, he thought with a shrug as he continued to eat the cake.

"Who was at the door, Prussia?" asked Germany, walking in. He saw his other family members and looked pleasantly surprised.

"Hungary, Austria," he said with a slight polite bow, "I hope Prussia wasn't too much of a pain."

"Hey!" yelled Prussia in umbrage.

"Hey, Aba!" cried Israel, waving his arm to get his father's attention, "Uncle Austria's cake is really good!"

"I'm not your Aba!"

Germany offered his siblings a seat and the four started to discuss boring adult stuff (as the cake began to disappear with Israel's assistance.)

"How is your situation with Russia going?" asked Germany to his sister. Hungary's face darkened.

"Badly," she said, "I haven't been under this much pressure from an empire since…well…"

Germany looked down in shame.

"But what of you?" asked Austria, sensing the tension, "are you not still number one on Russia's revenge list?"

"Ja, but thus far he's only come by to threaten me on occasion. He usually sends East."

"Russia's scary!" declared Israel, "he tried to get me to become one with him but I said no and now he hates me! Akhi says he's the biggest baddie ever! But he's not scared of him 'cause he's the hero!"

"I know," said Germany, "America is the one keeping Russia from realizing his dream of revenge for Stalingrad."

"When Russia tried to get me to the communist bloc," Israel said, "he said he'd help me get revenge on you and he said he'd do a bunch of bad things to you like bathe in your blood, it was scary!"

Germany looked over at the boy in surprise, not that Russia had said such things, but that Israel hadn't taken him up on such an offer back when he hated Germany. Despite his then dislike of Germany, the boy had not taken up the opportunity to get revenge.

Was that…pride Germany felt?

Prussia interrupted this thought by saying, "Ha! Don't be surprised, nephs, he's been psycho since day one! I'd be in East's position if it weren't for your bro!"

"I'm gonna be a hero like Akhi when I grow up!" affirmed Israel, holding himself up importantly, "then I wont be scared of Russia anymore!"

"Hm," said Germany with a nod. Hungary smiled.

"Give him hell for me when that time comes," she said.

"Sister!" cried Germany, "language in front of the child!"

"Hell's not a bad word."

While the adults got into a debate on whether or not hell was a bad word, Israel finished up the cake (the entire cake, Israel had an immunity to stomachaches when it came to sweets) and then got bored of the adult talk and decided to go explore the house a bit.

"Ah, don't be so overprotective, West," said Prussia.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with Prussia," said Austria, then he flinched as if expecting the roof to cave in over that.

"I'm not overprotective," Germany claimed, "I just would rather he not pick that word up."

"Where is he anyway?" asked Hungary. The nations looked around and didn't see the boy.

"Must have wandered off," muttered Germany, "I'll go find him." He stood and went to go find the boy.

"Israel?" he called, walking through the halls, "Israel, wo bist du?"

"In here!" came a high-pitched voice muffled by the door of the library. Germany opened the door and spotted the boy sitting in the middle of the floor of the large library with a book open in front of him. Germany walked over and bent down in front of the boy.

"There you are," he said. Israel smiled and gestured at the library around him.

"So many books! Akhi's library isn't nearly this big! Do you like reading?"

"With a passion," said Germany with a slight smile. The library was the oldest room in the house. It was the only room that hadn't been destroyed in the war.

"But hold on," said Germany, "I recall that you said you couldn't read."

"I'm not really reading," said Israel, "but I love books too. I just like looking through them."

"Oh," said Germany nodding.

"At home, Akhi reads to me all the time," Israel said, "Hey, Aba, could you…maybe…"

"You want me to read to you?" the German finished. Israel nodded fervently. Germany thought for a second.

"Well…I suppose literature is an important factor to becoming a strong nation…alright, I'll read to you."

"Yay!" cried Israel happily.

Germany sat down and Israel handed him the book. Then the boy climbed unto the couch and then, to Germany's surprise, the boy sat himself down in Germany's lap and leaned back against him.

Germany looked down at the boy, half wanting to tell him to get off, but the odd feeling returned and he found that overpowered any desire to for the boy to get off, so he simply sighed, glanced down at the boy once, opened the book and began to read.

While he did so, his three siblings peeked into the library via the open door.

"Ooooh," said Hungary, smiling widely, "that's so sweet! He found a reading buddy! He's always wanted one!"

"Hope he's not going _too_ soft on the kid," said Prussia.

"Of course he is!" cried Hungary.

"He shouldn't coddle him," said Austria crossly, "if he doesn't want the boy sitting there he should say so."

"Don't be so stiff, Mr. Austria."

"Humph!"

"Kesese! D'you think he'd be mad if he found out we're spying on him?"

"Of course not, "said Hungary, "I spy on you guys all the tiii…."

"What was that?" asked Austria.

"Never mind!" cried Hungary, making a mental note to move all her hidden cameras to a more secure location.

...

* * *

Awhile later, Germany finished up the chapter. He shut the book and put it to the side.

"That's enough, Israel, its time for bed," he said. He looked down at the boy. Israel's eyes were half closed. The boy yawned, then curled up and snuggled up to the German, falling asleep instantly.

A small explosion seemed to occur in Germany's stomach when he did so as the odd warm tingly feeling came back with more power than ever. He looked down at the Israeli in shock.

"I…you… I…" he stammered.

Israel smiled a little bit in his sleep and he snuggled his head into his father's chest. That did it. Germany's heart melted. His expression softened and he found himself wrapping his arms around the sleeping child and hugging the boy to him.

"Süss," he said. Then he found himself nuzzling the boy's hair affectionately. Israel's hair had an odd scent to it, oranges and something else he didn't recognize. The feeling in his stomach increased tenfold. _It seems to come on whenever Israel does something cute or endearing_, Germany thought. He didn't mind the feeling; he actually kind of liked it. A second, more familiar feeling also came to him. He hadn't felt it since before WWII. He felt almost _happy_. He let out a small sigh of content and hugged the boy closer.

"Listen," he said quietly to the boy as he nuzzled him, "I know I've done wrong. But I wont let it happen again. Not to you. On my honor, I swear to keep you safe, mein Schatz."

Germany continued to nuzzle and hug the boy. From outside the library, Austria and Prussia had to carry Hungary back to the living room and revive her, as she had seen Germany nuzzle Israel, turned blue, and passed out.

...

* * *

FINALLY! That only took forever!

**Christie: ****_(sigh)_**** I thought he would never show affection! **

Yup, so now he's officially attached to Izzy, a bit of explanation by the way:

Translation:

German: Mein Schatz= my treasure, a very affectionate German term that is often said by parents to their children.

Süss=cute/sweet

Hungary's trouble with Russia: Hungary was ruled over by Russia after WWII, Austria was as well for a brief time but was let go relatively early on in the Cold War.

Old Fritz: Prussia's old King, though most of you should know that. We'll get to him and the Jews later.

'I haven't had to deal with this much trouble from an empire since...': I.E. Nazi Germany

No hunting for Israel: Israel is one of the greenest nations on the planet, he's very environmental and loves animals, as such he's not gonna be hunting animals.

But we still have a few chapters to go! Rate and review, folks! Meanwhile, Christie. Lets go and find the Ghost of Adolf Hitler so you can exorcize it!

**Christie: right….y'know, Author, this may go more smoothly if you were to convert to Christianity…**

_Christie!_

**Christie: Okay! Okay! I'll keep trying to convert you ****_after_**** we handle this thing!**

Agreed.

**Disembodied Voice: Oooooh!**

Yipe! _(Author ducks behind Christie) _there he is! He's coming!

_(Christie takes out a cross)_ **all right, monster, in the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit, reveal yourself!**

**Ghost of Adolf Hitler: Ooooh! I am the Ghost of…ha! What's this, Author? Now you're hiding behind the missionary?**

The enemy of Adolf Hitler is my friend!

**Christie: You're going back to hell where you belong! By the Lord of Heaven, return to the Devil!**

_(Christie shoots GAH with a beam of light from the cross, GAH hold up a hand and the beam reflects back towards the Author and Christie.)_

Whoah! _(both duck out of the way and look up at GAH in shock.)_

**GAH: You both forget, I didn't ****_escape _****from hell; I made a deal and was ****_let go_****! So you two can only do so much!**

**Christie: ****_(laughs nervously)_**** ahaha…see now…the thing about that is…uh…she's Jewish, not me!**

_(Christie flees.)_

Wha-?! Hey, come back here you coward! Don't leave me!

_(Doors slams and Author gulps nervously before turning back to GAH.)_

**GAH: Looks like your little plan didn't work out, Author, you know what that means?**

_(Author backs away fearfully.)_

TBC

(*P.S. happy labor day, everyone!*)


	9. The Closet

Okay…my only hope of an ally has abandoned me, I have no weapons, no powers, I'm alone, outgunned and outmatched…my kind of odds!

_(Ghost of Adolf Hitler fires and Author manages to duck.)_

Only problem is, I have no idea how to get rid of him now!

**GAH: Until the devil comes to collect, Author, you're stuck with me, and he isn't coming for three more weeks!**

Darn it! That's almost longer than this multi-chapter! Yikes! (_ducks again.)_

**GAH: You can't run forever, Author!****_ (fires again)_**

I can certainly try! Yikes! Why is my job so dangerous?! I'm only a freaking Author! _(ducks again.)_

**GAH: Ha! You're pathetic, I'm barely trying! You should see the look on your face! Israel and Germany's little 'alliance' will be broken; my mere memory will be enough to split them up!**

We'll see about that! Waah! (_ducks again)_ okay folks, why don't you read this chapter while I keep running for my life! But don't abandon me!

...

* * *

In the weeks that came after Uncle Austria and Aunt Hungary's visit, Israel noticed an obvious change in his father's demeanor, at least towards him. Germany was still rather paranoid and stoic, but he had been acting less so around Israel. His mouth would twitch into a small smile when Israel spoke, laughed or called his name, and would even give a small chuckle should the boy perform some kind of antic. While he still objected to being called "Aba", he didn't argue when Israel sat on his lap when he read to him. Rather than tensing up, he now relaxed his guard when Israel came into the room. He had taken to calling Israel "mein Schatz" in addition to "mein junge" and "kleine." He had become even more protective of the boy then before, telling him over and over what not to do, touch play with lest he be injured and after issuing such warnings, he would claim that he was only telling him this "because I care about you."

Israel had absolutely no clue as to why Germany had gotten more warm and caring towards him, but he wasn't about to complain.

"Hey, Aba!" cried Israel, walking into Germany's office one morning. The German looked up from his work at the child.

"I'm not your Aba. Guten Morgen, Israel," he said. His gaze was rather icy and emotionless and he still had that air of intimidation that would have caused any other child to shiver with fear and respect, but he smiled ever so slightly at seeing the boy's eyes twinkle happily, and a smile of any size from Germany was more than just about anyone ever got.

"Can we go outside and play?" asked Israel. Germany's eyes softened.

"I'm sorry, Israel," he said, "I'm working right now. Once I'm finished we can. Until then go play by yourself or with the dogs. But stay out of the kitchen or you might get…"

"…cut, stabbed, impaled, sick or poisoned," completed Israel, smile not wavering, having been given such warnings so many times he had them all memorized.

"Exactly," said Germany, eyes shining with concern. The very thought of Israel getting hurt in any way, especially at his house, sent shivers down Germany's spine. He couldn't stand to see his Schatz in pain, and if that meant he had to be America-level overprotective of the boy then so be it. "Don't get hurt, and don't leave the house. I'm only saying this because I care about you."

"Ken, Aba!" said the boy, exiting the office.

"I'm not-" but the boy had already left. Germany sighed, and then went back to his work.

Israel searched around for his Uncle Prussia, but didn't find him anywhere. So the boy decided to let his curious instincts take hold as he explored the house. He knew every nook and cranny of Akhi's house even though it was bigger, but even though he had been living at Aba's home for months, he hadn't explored it as thoroughly. Aba's house, while slightly smaller and different from the house he had lived in before the war, had a lot of similarities. There were many, many rooms, mostly guestrooms, which, according to Uncle Prussia, the older house had had as well. The many guestrooms had apparently been useful during the war since Germany had been responsible for the boarding of the entire Axis Powers in his home (whereas the Allies had simply commandeered the World Meeting HQ.)

After looking through the guestrooms (and noticing that they were all exactly the same but he shouldn't have been surprised there, he was in a German house) he came across a particular door. Aba's room. He glanced from side to side and then back to the door. Well, it wouldn't hurt…

He entered his father's room and looked around. There wasn't much. A shelf with a few books and journals, a desk, some drawers. Nothing that caught the eye right away except a few pictures on the walls and a door in the far corner.

_That must be the closet Aba was talking about before,_ Israel thought, _I wonder what's in there…_

His natural question-and-undermine-authority instincts kicked in. Aba had said not to go in the closet, but why? What was he hiding from Israel? Was it dangerous? Just a quick peek wouldn't hurt…

He walked over to the door and turned the handle. It opened immediately. _Well_, thought Israel, _if Aba didn't bother to lock the door then it must not be that bad._

He entered.

The closet was large and dusty, as if it hadn't been touched or walked into in years. Israel coughed. The air was musty and the room dark. He felt along the walls, found a light switch, and flipped it on.

The room was filled with many crates and other odd things stacked neatly along the walls. Paintings, old uniforms, weapons and books. Everything was, of course, German-style neat and orderly, to the point where the crates were labeled and had dates on them.

"Wooooooow," breathed the Holy Land. Then he began to explore. He found a helmet on top of a crate. Dark green with an odd spear-like point on top. He put it on his head and ran over to a mirror. It nearly covered his eyes. He stood upright and saluted.

"Commander Israel Ben-Yehuda, 4th army division, reporting for duty!" the child cried. He giggled. _I look like a pincushion_, he thought. He took off the helmet and carefully put it back in place.

He looked at some of the pictures. They looked old, covered in dust and cobwebs that the nature-loving nation couldn't find it in himself to tear apart. He was able to see a few of the pictures. A dog, a horse, a soldier, one of a girl that looked awfully familiar. Israel continued his search.

He searched through some of the crates. One from 1918, 1840, 1921. There wasn't much and he was careful to put it all back after looking.

Then he came across the largest of the crates. Slightly worn but certainly the newest among the crates. Labeled in bright red:

**1933-1945**

**Das Dritte Reich**

**NIE WIEDER**

Israel could only read the date. He opened the crate with little effort, being a strong country. He looked in.

He pulled out a black uniform. Dark. Scary. Monster-like. Complete with a cap that had a skull on it. Death's head. The Holy Land shuddered and put it aside.

Next he pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. He looked at it curiously. It was entirely in German, Israel could tell. One word stuck out, a signature at the bottom.

_Deutschland_

Israel stuck his bottom lip out in a curious pout. He had peeked over his father's shoulder while he was at work enough times to recognize his signature. He put the document aside.

Next he yanked out what appeared to be an old photo book. He flipped through it and was shocked. Aba was in most of the pictures, dressed in the uniform he'd just put aside. Red armband on. In one picture he stood in front of a crowed giving the straight-armed nazi salute. His eyes flickered to the camera.

Was that sadness the Israeli saw?

Other pictures featured Germany and the Axis powers, mainly him, Italy, Japan and Prussia. The Axis wore menacing uniforms that practically screamed, "I am about to invade you." Prussia's was identical to Germany's.

Israel also spotted several pictures of two other people. One had light brown hair and…was that a star on his jacket?! He smiled at the camera in a nervous manner. The other person wore a similar uniform to Germany's except he wore a helmet with an eagle on it. He had blonde hair and smiled haughtily at the camera as if saying, "I'm doing something bad and I like it."

Israel flipped to the next photo and couldn't stop staring.

His father, Prussia, and Austria sat deadpan behind a podium where a man, no, a monster stood. He was short, black hair, black moustache that looked as though he had been shaving and had missed a spot under his nose. He pointed to what must have been an audience in front of him. The man didn't look particularly threatening in his own regard. His eyes were the only things that gave him away. In them was nothing. Nothing hidden, nothing to be seen. Not expressionless. Just _nothing_.

Israel slammed the album shut, breathing heavily. That man was the reason he existed, that he needed to exist. He was the reason Aba covered his face in shame at the other nations' hisses and whispers.

Israel put the album aside and then he spotted something folded at the bottom of the crate. Red like blood. A folded flag. He took it out and unfolded it. Almost entirely red with a white circle in the center that that held a black sign. A crooked, claw like, black insignia. He touched his hand to it.

Flashes of screams, blood, shouts, ash and fire. Then everything went blank.

...

* * *

Israel blinked and moaned. He felt something wet and cool on his forehead. A voice above him cried, "You're awake! _Phew_! You're lucky it was the awesome me that found you! West would blow his top if he found out you were in there!"

Israel opened his eyes. He was laying on the couch in the living room with a wet towel on his forehead and his Uncle Prussia standing over him. The boy rubbed his temple and sat up.

"Ooooh, what happened?" he groaned.

Prussia, looking concerned, said, "I came home and West told me to find you. I looked around, looked in West's room and saw the closet door open and you lying out cold near that damn flag. You okay?"

"_Ngh_… I touched the weird sign and saw things from my nightmares."

"You mean the swastika?" said Prussia, "that crate you went into was our stuff from when the nazis were around."

"The flag and uniform?"

"Ja."

"And the pictures?" asked the Jewish land, "I saw you and Aba in pictures…in nazi uniforms."

Prussia, looked from the boy to the ground hesitantly, the sighed, "understand why he's so guilty now?"

"What did he do?" asked Israel, "what exactly happened to him? Did he…?"

"I've promised not to say," said Prussia in a surprisingly stern voice, "but just know that he's a good guy now. He doesn't want that anymore, in fact he never really did. Hitler made us all do stuff we didn't wanna. We'd take it all back if we could."

Israel nodded, but he still looked skeptical and uncomfortable. Israel didn't like the idea of keeping secrets, and he was suspicious as to why nobody would give him a straight answer on what happened during that time.

"I put everything away for 'ya so West wont know you were in there."

"Toda," said the boy, still looking uncomfortable.

"Hey, nephs," said Prussia, "I know West, and he's not a bad guy. He's made some stupid decisions and been arrogant as heck, but he'd never do something like that on purpose. And he ain't gonna hurt 'ya. Don't tell anyone else I said this, but I think he really cares about 'ya."

Israel nodded and looked contemplative at this.

"I think…" said the boy, hopping off the couch after a minute or so of silent thinking, "I'm gonna go up to my room and take a nap. But before I do, one last thing."

He turned to his Uncle and with his unusually series look and speech asked, "There were two picture of two people in the crate, a nazi and I think the other was a Jew, who were they?"

Prussia hesitated before saying, "I've promised not to say."

...

* * *

Israel did go up to his room, but he didn't take a nap. Instead, he sat on his bed thinking to himself for hours and hours. When Aba came in at 7:00 to tuck him in and say goodnight, he didn't speak and only pretended to fall asleep. After Germany left, he continued to sit up in the dark and think to himself.

Now that he thought about it, he barely knew Aba. What was so bad or private that his father couldn't tell him or really anyone? What if Aba, who Israel had great respect and love for, had Jewish blood on his hands? How could Israel like somebody who, murderer or not, had caused the deaths of so many of his people? Could he trust him?

Apparently Israel's people didn't think so.

Israel groaned and clutched his side in pain as he felt riots going on in his home. He heard his people angrily yell that they did not want anything to do with Germany. He felt them smash windows and turn over cars in protest.

For Israel, there seemed to be more of a reason not to be friends with Germany than to be friends. His people didn't want him to, his father might be a murderer, so why should he?

Israel's eyes began to water as some rioter threw tear gas. Israel laid his head down and stubbornly decided that he would avoid Aba until his brother returned. He wouldn't play with Aba, he wouldn't talk to Aba if he could avoid it, and he certainly wouldn't go to Aba's room if he saw a monster. If that was what his people wanted then so be it.

_That's what my people want_, thought Israel, _but what do I want?_

Israel paused and sat up again. Now that he came to think about it…

He wanted to be friends with Aba. He liked Aba. He was a good man, that was obvious to anyone who knew him. And Aba had been acting so much nicer to him as of late, why would Israel want to start being cold to him?

Israel sat there thinking to himself when a large and monster-like figure suddenly appeared on the wall. Israel let out a frightened yelp, leaped out of bed and raced down the hall towards Aba's room, the thought of rejecting his father's kindness forgotten. Why bother? Whether they liked it or not, Israel and Germany couldn't just turn the cold shoulder towards one another, they needed each other.

"Aba? Hey, Aba!" Israel squeaked. Germany awoke instantly to see Israel standing next to his bed, eyes wide with fear, clutching his hand together and rocking back and forth nervously.

"Israel, was ist es?" asked the German, sitting up and looking at the boy curiously.

"I saw a monster in my room," said Israel. Germany cocked an eyebrow inquisitively.

"But you had me check earlier and there was nothing."

"They sometimes sneak in," Israel explained, fear evident in his tiny voice, "can I stay with you?"

"Israel," Germany sighed, "there's no monsters, you just imagined it, go back to your-"

"Lo! It wasn't just my imagination!" cried the boy in a definitive yet fearful voice, "Don't make me go back there! I'm scared the monster will catch me and kill me!" He started to sniffle and tears began to stream from his eyes. Germany stared down at the terrified boy in surprise and tried to remember how America had said to calm him down if he got upset like this.

Germany suddenly grabbed the boy and put him on his lap. He hugged him and stroked his hair. Israel was, safe to say, surprised. He stopped crying right away.

"Shhh, keine angst," said Germany in an oddly calm and comforting voice, "you can stay here if you're scared. Nothing is going to hurt or kill you. I'll stop anything that tries."

Israel would have muttered his thanks, but he found himself too tired to do so. He closed his eyes and leaned back into his father's surprisingly gentle embrace. Aba was quite strong, despite a giant war having nearly killed him, and Israel felt a lot safer knowing Aba was there to help him. The Israeli yawned, closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

Germany gave the boy a small kiss on the head. The question of why he'd done that was in the back of his head as he stroked the boy's hair. This wasn't so hard, he thought, he'd had harder tasks. It was quite simple, really: anyone, human or nation, who touched the child would have to deal with him. Any nazi who dared get too close would die. It was as simple as that.

...

* * *

**GAH: Oh what the hell?! Come on! Darn it! Hmmm, if Germany's protecting him this will make it harder…but no matter! I will take over again! Right after I handle you, author!…Author?**

_(Author has fled, she runs down the hall and slams door shut, locking it fifty times.)_

Whew! Good thing I managed to get away while he was evilly monologuing! Well, since I'm stuck in here again and I haven't come up with a plan yet I might as well give an explanation of this chapter.

Translations:

German:

Keine angst=don't be afraid Das Dritte Reich, NIE WIEDER=The Third Reich, NEVER AGAIN

Deutschland=Germany

Picture of the Nazi and the possible Jew: CLIFFHANGER!

Almost the entirety of the scene in the closet: CLIFFHANGER!

Israel fainted after touching the swastika: Kid of like a Voldemort thing for Izzy, he touches a swastika and he sees images of the war and passes out.

Riots going on in Israel: So, I'm pretty sure I briefly touched upon this in my first story but during the early fifties when Israel and Germany were signing deals with each other and were getting closer the Israelis understandably weren't very happy. Most people considered the money Germany sent to Israel to be 'blood money' and when the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) was debating on whether or not to accept reparations from Germany a riot broke out and tear gas was thrown into the building, causing the meeting to be temporarily abandoned (they reconvened later and agreed to the German Reparations.)

Germany's Promise to Israel: Oh ho, boy, Germany! You're gonna have a lot of difficulty keeping that one as the series progresses, he's Israel after all, there's never a calm moment.

(Sigh) and you'll have even more trouble if I don't find a way to get rid of the Ghost of Adolf Hitler. Ugh! Give me some time, folks, I need to think, I'll be back!

(P.S. Sorry about the late update folks but it was Rosh Hashanah, hope I spelled that right, we went to my aunt's house. Happy New Year to any of my fellow Jews reading this and as for the rest of you, I'll be back soon!)


	10. Out to Town

**Ghost of Adolf Hitler: ****_(ramming on the door)_**** you cant hide in there forever, Author! Come out so I can finish you! Little Jew, Little Jew, let me in!**

_(Author shudders and holds menorah at the ready, GAH enters and Author shoots at him with menorah. GAH stumbles and is thrown back, but is still active.)_

Darn it! Looks like my menorah can repel him but it cant do much else! He can block it! _(Author slams door shut)_ well, for now I've just gotta keep him at bay, but I cant deal with this for three more weeks! I've gotta find a way to stop him for good.

Ugh! This is giving me a headache; maybe another chapter will help me to think…

...

* * *

"Please, Aba?"

"Nein."

"I'll be super good! I wont wander off, I swear!"

"Yes, you will."

"What's with you two?" asked Prussia, walking into the living room where his brother and nephew sat debating. Germany sighed.

"He wants to go-"

"Out to town!" cried Israel with enthusiasm, "I wanna see the shops and stuff like I always do with Akhi back home!"

Israel was very outdoorsy and as such hated being cooped up in a particular place for too long. He'd been confined to Aba's house and yard for the months he'd been there, which to a small child like Israel, seemed like forever.

"And I say he'll get lost or killed," said Germany, unflinching in his protectiveness of the boy.

"But you'll be with me!" Israel countered, "and you said you'd stop anyone who tried to kill me, you promised!"

Germany grunted and looked down at the rug. Why did the boy have to remember everything he said and throw it back at him at his convenience?

"Aw, c'mon West!" said Prussia, "let him go! As long as you're there…well…if I were a nazi I'd think twice."

"Still…"

"Well, either way works for me, kesese, I was planning on getting drunk later anyway so…"

"ISRAEL! WE'RE GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE!"

"Akla!"

"Kesese!"

So with that, fifteen minutes later, the German and Israeli walked down the Berlin streets. Germany gripped the smaller nation's hand tight enough so that they would not get separated, yet loose enough so as not to induce pain. The Jewish land looked around the city, beaming. Israel, being a desert land that was only now becoming a high-tech nation was awed and fascinated by western cities.

Germany tried his best to steer Israel away from the destroyed parts of town. Issue being: just about everywhere was a destroyed part of town. Berlin had been decimated during the war and Israel, being observant, noticed.

"Hey, Aba," he said, tugging on his father's arm and pointing, "that building's half gone! Did it get bombed in the war."

"Ja, Israel," said Germany, face darkening at the mention of the cursed war.

Israel, curiosity peaked, said, "what did you do during the…?"

"Look Israel," said Germany, pointing, steering the conversation away from the war, "do you know what that is?"

Israel looked to where his father was pointing and saw a large gate, similar to the one at Big Brother France's house. It was topped with what looked like a person riding horses.

"Lo," said the boy, shaking his head, "what is it?"

"That is the Brandenburg Gate," said Germany with a rare hint of pride in his voice, "the symbol of my land and…unity…"

"Why the hesitation?" queried Israel observantly.

"A long time ago," Germany recited as if telling the boy a bedtime story, "my land was a mess of many different independent and often quarrelling states. It took many years to finally get them all to form one German state."

"You?" asked Israel, smiling. Germany nodded.

"Ich," he said, "but after the war I was split in half…nein , nein, not like that!" said Germany with a slight amused chuckle as Israel's eyes widened in horror and he looked up and down at his father naively wondering how he had been stitched back together again, "I mean my land was split to form two nations, West Germany, myself, and East Germany, the German Democratic Republic who lives in the Communist Bloc."

"Another Uncle?" said Israel, smiling at the thought of another relative, but his smile turned upside down and his brows came together in confusion when Germany fiercely shook his head.

"Nein," he said with clear anger in a no-argument tone, "not family. He's a puppet state of Russia. I wish he did not exist," he said that last sentence with particular bitterness and then added, "I will not be allies or even recognize anyone who recognizes East Germany."

"Oh, well…I guess I wont recognize him then!" cried Israel brightly. Germany's anger was quickly replaced by a wave of appreciation and some other emotion for the child, he smiled just barely.

After walking awhile, Israel eventually stopped in front of a window of a toyshop, staring into the shop with wonder.

"Ooooh," he breathed. He hadn't been to a toyshop in so long. At home, Akhi took him to the toyshops all the time and bought him a lot of cool toys for them to play with. Akhi's toyshops were really big. This one was rather small and had obviously just opened, as there were no signs or anything on it. Germany followed the boy's gaze.

"Would you like to go in?" he asked. Israel nodded eagerly.

A few minutes later, Germany stood awkwardly in the toyshop watching Israel gaze around the store. Israel's eyes eventually settled on a blue toy car. He picked it up and looked it over. Made in West Germany, rather new. He gave a nod of approval after his inspection, walked over to his father and held up the toy.

"Hey, Aba, can I-"

"Ja."

"…are you sure…?"

"Ja."

Israel beamed, "toda, Aba!"

"I'm not your Aba," said Germany rather coldly as he paid for the toy, though he really felt a twinge of delight at hearing Israel's happiness.

Israel ran a little ahead of Germany as they continued their walk, waving his new toy through the air and making car noises.

"Don't run too far ahead, Schatz," said Germany. Israel nodded but didn't obey and ran farther ahead. Germany sighed with slight annoyance and quickened his pace to keep up with the rascally child.

"Verooom! Skreee!" cried Israel, coming to a sudden halt in front of a small café. He beamed and turned to his father.

"Hey Aba, can we…?

"Ja."

"You sure are letting me…"

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," said Germany, grabbing the boy's hand and leading him into the café.

"Shalom!" said Israel brightly to the lady behind the desk. She gave a curt nod and a small smile down at the boy. Germany glared, ever suspicious and paranoid.

"Was möchest du?" asked the lady to Israel, shuddering slightly at Germany's cold glare that clearly told her that if she even looked at the boy in a way he didn't approve, she would regret it.

"Oh," said Germany, remembering that the humans of course didn't speak the language of the nations, "Israel, I'll translate for…"

"Oh!" Israel interrupted, pointing to a cake in the case, "ein Stück Kuchen!" The woman smiled and quickly got a knife to cut a piece. Germany looked down at the Israeli in surprise.

Later, as they left the café, Germany said, "where did you learn German?"

Israel, who had a slight bounce in his step as he was very happy, shrugged a shoulder and said, "I 'da know, I just know it."

Germany looked down at the boy inquisitively. "Just know it, hm? I see…how much of it do you know?"

"A lot, I guess. It just comes to me."

"Wie sagt man 'room'"

"Zimmer," translated Israel without hesitation. Germany nodded in approval.

"Sehr gut," he said. Then he thought for a second. "Say, you said earlier that America was teaching you to read and write in Hebrew and English."

"Ken!"

"Well, if you like, I could teach you to read German…"

"Would you?!" cried Israel, beaming up at his father with eagerness. Germany resisted the urge to smile and nodded.

"If you like."

"I definitely would!" cried Israel, "then I could read all the books in your library and wouldn't have to wait for you to finish your work!"

"Ja…and…also science and mathematics are critical to becoming a well developed nation…if you want…"

"Could you teach me those too?" said the boy, eyes shining with enthusiasm. Germany looked down at the boy. The other children Germany had raised before had also been eager to learn. And Germany wanted Israel to succeed twice as much as he ever had those colonies.

"Certainly," said Germany as they got back to the house. Then he couldn't hold back a smile as the boy gave a whoop of delight.

"Akla!" he cried, "can I go show Uncle Prussia my new car and then can we have our first lesson?"

"Näturlich," said Germany, still smiling warmly down at the child.

"Toda!" Israel cried, then he held his car over his head and ran inside, saying, "hey Uncle Prussia! Check out this new car Aba gave me!"

A few seconds later…"

"Hey Aba! Uncle Prussia's passed out on the couch and there are a lot of bottles…"

"Israel! Maybe we should start your lessons now!"

If Prussia was nothing else, he was a man of his word.

...

* * *

**Ghost of Adolf Hitler: AHA! I'm back, author, you cannot stop me!**

GYAH! _(Author fires at the Ghost of Adolf Hitler and manages to get him out of the room. She then slams the door shut and breathes a sigh of relief.)_

Whoo! That was a close one! Yikes! I need to find a way to get rid of this guy… well, I'll think of something, until then, explanation time.

Translations:

German:

Was möchest du=What would you like?

Ein Stück Kuchen=a piece of cake

Wie sagt man 'room'=how do you say 'room?'

Zimmer=Room

Näturlich= of course

Germany's colonies: We'll get to them later but yes, Germany does have other colonies and other children besides Israel, he just doesn't look after them as much.

Israel knows German: Since Israel is the Jewish land and there are Jews all over the world, and Jews from all over the world in Israel he knows a ton of other languages.

Germany home schooling Israel: Germany and Israel are very cooperative in a lot of intellectual areas, particularly science and math.

_(Author sighs and her eyes dart over to her huge history book collection)_ Hmmm…speaking of education. _(Author starts rifling through her books.)_

These are all WWII books…hmmm…Hitler was beaten once and there's probably something in these books that'll give me an idea on how to beat him again…I'll look through them. Until then, I'll see you all soon! Hopefully I can fix this by the final chapter!


	11. East

_(Author is going through her various WWII books) sigh_, I've been looking and looking but I haven't found anything that may be useful yet! Can't give up though…

Hm? Oh, hi guys. Well, we have one more chapter after this and I've still gotta figure out a way to get rid of the Ghost of Adolf Hitler. Hopefully I'll think of something but until then, enjoy this chapter, we finally meet Germany's other half here, East Germany…

...

* * *

"Hey Aster!" cried Israel, running up to the dog, who was curled up asleep. She woke up and panted happily at seeing the boy.

"C'mon! Lets go play outside!" said the boy. Aster barked with approval, stood up and followed the boy out to the backyard as the boy dragged his teddy behind him.

Israel had noticed something about Aster from the many months he'd been at Aba's house. Aster had a slight limp on her left hind leg. It wasn't noticeable unless she tried to run, and even then it was barely noticeable, but Israel the nature-nut knew that a Golden Retriever of her age and health should have been able to run twice as fast as she did. When he asked Aba about Aster's leg, however, Germany claimed there was nothing wrong with her. When Israel insisted that that wasn't the case and accused his father of lying, Germany simply said that Aster had been "put through a lot."

But that didn't mean Aster was slow, far from it. She was certainly fast enough to race with Israel.

"Alright," said the boy once he and the dog reached the backyard. Israel sat his Teddy in front of his toy car. "It's a race between Teddy and me versus you."

Aster barked in understanding.

"Beseder! First one to the tree and back wins! Ready…set…_go!_"

Israel pushed his car and teddy over to the tree, making car noises all the way. Aster ran alongside, although she could easily outrun the boy at the pace he was going, she intentionally slowed down. Israel raced around the tree and back to their stopping place.

"I win!" cried the competitive child happily, he held his teddy up and said, "Oh, I mean _we_ win!"

"Bark! Bark!" Aster barked happily. Then she perked up her ears and turned her head towards the front of the house, growling.

"What is it, girl?" asked Israel, patting the dog on the head. He looked to where Aster was looking, around the side of the house, and spotted what she was growling at. A young man of about thirteen or fourteen with blonde hair and wearing an odd uniform with a red scarf. Israel curiously walked over to the house's corner and peeked out at him. Aster followed his example, a growl still in her  
throat.

"West!" cried the teen, ramming on the front door, "Federal Republic, open up! Come on, you fascist dog! Mother Russia's still mad at you for your betrayal! Open up and face him! Quit hiding behind your capitalist master!"

Aster growled loudly and leaped from her hiding place. She ran up to the teen and bent down in an attack position, bearing her fangs, the teen just sneered.

"Shut it, mutt!" ordered the teen, giving Aster a hard kick to the side. The dog yelped in pain.

"Hey!" cried Israel, jumping from behind the corner and running over to the dog. He patted Aster on the head comfortingly and then glared up at the teen.

"That's cruelty to animals!" yelled the boy in a surprisingly angry voice. The teen cocked an eyebrow.

"Who the hell are you?" said he.

Israel, still glaring defiantly, puffed his tiny chest out importantly and said, "Ani Eretz Yisrael." The teenager smirked.

"Ooooh! The king of capitalists' little brother, hm? Ja, Mother Russia went into much detail of your refusing to join our fair communist society. So…"

The teenager bent down to eye level with Israel. Israel shuddered a bit at seeing the ten had violet eyes just like Russia's, "what is the Jewish land doing at mein alte bruder's home?"

"Deutschland ist mein Papa," responded Israel in German, his piercing blue eyes glaring directly into the teenager's violet ones.

"Oh?" said the teen, straightening up and failing to hide his surprise.

"East!" yelled Germany, opening the door, looking both annoyed and mad, "I've told you a hundred times…"

He saw East standing over Israel. Germany's eyes widened and he suddenly felt pure anger shoot through his veins. He clenched his fists in fury and stepped in front of the boy.

"Israel," he commanded, "stay behind me."

"But Aba…"

"_Stay behind me_." Israel nodded and peeked out from behind his father's leg.

Germany's furious glare met his Eastern half as he barked, "What were you doing? Did you hurt him?! I swear if you so much as touched him…"

East glared right back, despite being at least two feet shorter and not even half as strong as the West German.

"Guten Morgen to you too, Federal Republic," he said, "may I ask you, dearest brother, why the Jewish land is in your home?"

Germany, obviously angered by the mere presence of the teenager, spat, "The Jewish land is my guest. His brother sent him here while he is fighting your little friend in Asia."

"North?" East shrugged, "'friend' is a bit of a loose term for North. Speaking of which, Mother Russia sent me here…"

"Let me guess, to tell me to watch out because I'm number one on his revenge list," said Germany; "I've heard it all before, East."

At that, East Germany glared and yelled, "Do not call me East! It's the German Democratic Republic and don't you forget it! There is only one Germany!"

"Ja, and its not you!" yelled Germany right back.

"I deserve the title of the true German nation far more then you do!" yelled East Germany, "you are a fascist state!"

"Don't you dare call me a fascist state!" roared Germany, "you and your secret police are far more of a fascist state!"

"Me?! You have _Nazis _in your government!"

"Not by choice! You think I _like_ having Nazis in my government?! You are a puppet state!"

"Nein, _you_ are the puppet state!" yelled the communist, "you fall over backwards for the capitalist king!"

"America is my friend!"

"Suuure," said East Germany with a sneering grin, "I suppose that's why you're keeping watch on the Zionist brat? Or was there just not enough room at your camps?"

Germany looked shocked, he went pale, and then he dealt the teenager a hard smack across the face.

"OW!" cried the teen, rubbing his sore cheek.

"How dare you?" hissed Germany in a deadly voice, "how dare you say such things after all our people did?"

East stood up straight and claimed, "all _your_ people did! My people were resistance fighters during that time!"

"Nein they were not and you know it! There were just as many East German Nazis as there were west and I would know, I was…"

"_You're lying_!" yelled East, stomping his foot, "Mother Russia said it was all your people! Mother Russia wouldn't lie to me!" The Communist then spun around and stomped off, angrily muttering about dirty lying capitalist pigs.

"_Go within a hundred miles of Israel again and I break your arm_!" Germany yelled after him. The West German then spun around, "Israel, are you…?"

He spotted the boy patting Aster on the head comfortingly. The boy looked up with sadness in his eyes.

"He kicked Aster," said the Israeli in a hurt tone. Germany's expression softened and he walked over to the boy. He gave Aster a pat on the head. The dog liked all the attention and wagged her tail.

"Why did he say it wasn't his peoples' fault?" asked Israel. Germany was surprised by his serious tone and the absence of the happy gleam in his eyes, which had been substituted with a stern stare.

"That was East Germany," explained Germany, "he was raised by Russia. And, well, Russia taught him that his people were all in the resistance during the war."

"But that's not true," said Israel, brows coming together in confusion. His father nodded.

"Ich weiss, but East doesn't know that. Russia is like his Akhi; he believes everything he says, even things that aren't true. If your brother told you he was a hero, you would believe him right?"

"But he is a hero!"

"But what if he wasn't? You'd still believe him, ja?"

"Akhi wouldn't lie to me," said Israel firmly. Germany smiled a little bit and resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Näturlich he wouldn't, but East thinks the same thing of Russia. Besides, its more convenient for him to just say it wasn't his fault."

"Akhi says that the right thing isn't always the easy thing, but a hero's got to do the right thing," said the Israeli, gleam returning to his eyes. Germany gave a small smile and patted the boy on the head.

"At least America's right on one thing."

...

* * *

Translations:

German:

Deutschland ist mein Papa=Germany is my Dad

Guten Morgen=Good Morning

East Germany: If he seems like a jerk…good, he is, but we'll get more into his back story later, he's got a reason to be a jerk.

"You have Nazis in your government": Unfortunately that isn't Communist propaganda, Germany, despite the fact that his boss, Konrad Adenaur, was an anti-Nazi during the war did have people in his government who had been members of the Nazi party during the war. Fortunately they didn't effect the latter government or Germany's relations with Israel too much.

'My people were resistance fighters" Indeed in East Germany the people were taught that they and their people had been victims during the war (which to a certain degree was true, Communists were persecuted in Nazi Germany, however there were plenty of guilty East Germans) Thus East Germany, unlike West Germany, refused to take any responsibility for what the Nazis had done. On the contrary, the Communists had a lot of Anti-Semitic propaganda put out but we'll get to that later.

German Democratic Republic: East Germany's official name.

Federal Republic: I.E. The Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) West Germany's official name.

Well, I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter, but I'm still in trouble! AGH! There's gotta be something in here…wait a minute…

_(She flips to the end of the book, reads on part and smiles widely.)_ The way it ended…that's it! I know how to beat him…oh! But darn it! I'll need help and Christie wont come back after what happened! Think Author, think, there must be someone else you can call!

_(Author thinks hard and then her eyes brighten)_ of course! I've got it! Come back soon folks! It's time to finish this!

(P.S. Tomorrow's Yom Kippur, I'm putting off eating as long as possible today and tomorrow I'm fasting all day. Wish me luck folks! And to any of my fellow Jews who are also fasting, Good Fast!)


	12. Akhi's Back!

Okay…menorah at the ready….everything prepared…excellent! Now all I have to do is wait…

Oh, hi guys. I've set up my trap for the Ghost of Adolf Hitler, I'm pretty confident. We're almost about to see if it works but in the meantime, lets wrap this multi-chapter up.

...

* * *

It had been a whole year since Israel had come to live at Germany's house, at this point he had gotten into the rhythm of living with his father and even though he much preferred Akhi's house, he had grown to really like Aba's house, it was starting to feel like more of a home and less like a boarding school. Germany had also grown to enjoy having the boy at his home. He didn't want to admit it, but he almost wished that America would never come back to claim the boy.

But it was very rare if ever that Germany got what he wished for. One day, there was a ring at the doorbell.

"I'll get it, stay here Schatz," said Germany, setting down the pencil and leaving the boy sitting in the living room with a science book on the coffee table in front of him.

Germany answered the door and was incredibly surprised to see a young man with dirty-blonde and messy hair, a slightly torn uniform and several bandages, but still looking as youthful and strong as ever with a typical happy gleam in his eyes.

"_America_?!" he said in shock. It had been so long since they had seen each other that he had almost forgotten what the superpower looked like.

"How's it going, G?!" laughed America happily, thumping the German on the shoulder with his good arm in a brotherly fashion. Germany gave a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" he said with happy surprise, "the war…"

"Is over!" cried America proudly, "Well, sorta, cease fire, but it still counts! And it's thanks to me, of course!"

"So you're all coming back?" asked Germany. America nodded.

"Yup! I ran ahead of the others so I could pick up Izzy! I haven't seen him in so long and our last conversation on the phone was so long ago!"

"America, you just spoke to him last week…"

"Do you know how long that his in brother years?!" cried America, "I haven't seen him in so long and I missed him so much! Did he miss me too?!"

"Ja, he talked endlessly about you and…"

"Knew it! Knew he wouldn't forget me no matter what England said!" cried America, eyes watering a little bit with happiness since indeed throughout the ordeal England had taunted him that by the time he got back, Israel would have forgotten him and would then leave him.

"Did you do everything I told you to? Did you take good care of him? Was he a good boy?" asked America after he regained himself.

"Ja," said Germany with a slight smile. America nodded.

"Of coarse he was! He's the HERO's brother after all! I raised him right! So, I'm ready to take him home! Where is he?"

"Oh! Ummm…" Germany started. America was taking Israel back home. When he had first taken Israel in he had counted the days until America returned to collect the boy but now the thought of the boy leaving and Germany not being able to watch him…upset him. Yes, he was upset that Israel was leaving.

"Hey, Aba!" cried Israel as he walked into the room, dragging his teddy behind him, "Who's at he d-"

He stopped in his tracks when he saw who was on the doorstep. His face broke out in shock and he dropped his teddy. Israel hadn't seen his beloved big brother in a full year and while that wasn't that long a time, especially for countries, to a young child like Israel, it was an eternity. He took a few second to recover from shock, then he beamed like a small star.

"AKHI!" he cried in unadulterated happiness. He ran over to his brother who picked him up, tossed him into the air, caught him, then hugged him as both laughed happily. Germany couldn't help but smile at their joyous reunion.

"Okay, I might have stretched 'back soon' a little bit, but I'm back like I said I'd be!" cried America, clearly overjoyed to be able to hold his baby brother again.

"Ken! Ken!" cried the Israeli, hugging his brother, "I'm so happy you're back, Akhi, I missed you!"

"I missed you more!"

"Akhi," said Israel, looking concerned and pointing to his brother's bandages, "you got hurt."

"Only a little. You should see North Korea! We really taught him a lesson!"

Israel giggled and gave a little applause.

"So Izzy, were you good for your Dad?"

"I'm not his Dad!"

"Ken," said the Israeli, "Aba was really nice and we got along real well and he started teaching me math and science and how to read German and I got to meet my aunt and uncle!"

"Sounds like fun!" said America.

"Can we go home now?" asked Israel. America nodded.

"Yup! Go get your stuff!" Israel nodded, hopped down, grabbed his teddy and ran off to get his car. Both of the western countries looked after him and then America grinned.

"Ain't he cute?"

"Ja."

"Let me guess," said America with a sly grin, "he told you to read to him?"

"Ja," said Germany, smiling slightly.

"Sat on your lap?"

"Wouldn't budge."

"Saw a monster?"

Germany gave a small chuckle at that, "every other night."

"Then he came in with you, hm?"

"How do you know all that?" asked Germany, giving his friend a curios look. America just laughed.

"Cause that's what he does at home with me," said the America, "and from the looks of it, you've gotten attached.

"I…ahhhh…" Germany hesitated, having a natural need to not show his feelings, but not wanting to lie, he nodded once. America laughed triumphantly.

"Akhi, I'm ready!" cried Israel, running back, carrying his teddy and toy car. America's eyes gleamed.

"Ooooh, nice car!" he cried with child-like enthusiasm. Israel beamed and nodded.

"Aba got it for me!" he said happily.

"Oh, did he?" said America, smiling.

"Ken," said Israel. Then he paused and said , "Hey Akhi, if its not too much trouble, can I come back over to Aba's house some time like for lessons or just to visits?"

"Fine with me!" cried America with enthusiasm, "but you'll have to get G's permission, what about it, G? Can he-"

"Ja!" said Germany with a hint of eagerness. America grinned at seeing that he plan had worked.

"Great!" cried the American cheerfully, "I'll bring Izzy back next week! Alright, lets roll, little bud! Bye, G!"

"Shalom, Aba, see you next week!" cried Izzy, smiling and waving goodbye to his father as America grabbed him, put the boy on his shoulders and carried him off. Germany smiled a little bit and waved back, then shut the door. For some reason, the room felt a little emptier. It was rare Germany got excited for anything, but he quickly went over to the nearest calendar and marked the day that Israel would once again come to visit.

...

* * *

Awwww! So, he's finally attached to him, but we've still got other stories to get to! So a brief explanation time:

"We won! Well, sorta, cease fire.": The Korean War is technically still going on, they had a cease fire that's been going on for the last fifty plus years, technically they could call it back on at any point, not that that would be a good idea for either one.

Well, that's it for this one so…

**Ghost of Adolf Hitler: Ooooooohh~!**

Uh oh! Sounds like our man is here! Lets get ready!

_(Ghost of Adolf Hitler enters)_

**GAH: Author! Show yourself, this is getting tiring!**

_(Author pops out and smiles confidently)_ Right here, Addy!

**GAH: Ah! There you are! Say your prayers! ****_(fires on Author)_**

(_Author ducks and fires back with menorah.)_

**GAH: ****_(blocks)_**** Ha! Why do you keep insisting on doing that? Your little weapon can't beat me!**

You're right…not on its own! Now guys!

**GAH: Huh?**

_(Germany and Israel jump out and fire on GAH, GAH tries to block but cant block all of them but cant block them all at once and collapses.)_

**GAH: What…did you…?!**

Ha! Multi front war! Hitler cannot won in a multi front war! That's how you lost the war, you declared war on Russia, America and the others and they all attacked you at from different sides!

**GAH: How did you know my weakness!?**

That's why you don't try to mess with a history nut. Germany, would you do the honors.

**Germany: With pleasure ****_(shoots GAH)_**

**GAH: GYAH! ****_(begins to fade)_**** you win this round, but I'll be back-!**

_(GAH finally disappears, Author sighs with relief.)_

Finally! That took like nine chapters! Nice shot, Germany!

**Israel: Hey! I shot at him too!**

**Germany: Israel, don't be so competitive.**

Aw, you did well too, Izzy!

**Israel: ****_(smiles)_**

**Germany: Well, if he comes back, be certain to call us. I wouldn't want any danger to come to Israel from him…plus shooting him just made my day infinitely better.**

Shooting a Hitler does make the day slightly brighter, Germany. I'll keep you two on speed dial. But hopefully we won't have to worry about that…and hopefully the audience will keep on reading after this! See you guys in the next story!

**Israel: shalom~!**


End file.
